The Heart Of Manukau
Situated adjacent to Auckland's Southern Motorway in the heart of Manukau City, the new Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre is an eye-catching facility designed to embrace the cultural diversity of its surrounding community. The architectural form was inspired by both Maori and Polynesian building and craft traditions and expresses these in a temporary manner. In order to achieve this vision, Creative Spaces and Cox Richardson formed a joint venture for the project with a talented team from both architectural practices working together on what is seen as Stage 1 in the development of the 26 hectare site.
The centre caters to the cultural, entertainment, sporting and business needs of Manukau City with the 2,500 seat Sir Woolf Fisher indoor sports arena and the 700 seat fully functional Genisis Energy theatre combining to create a highly distinctive venue. Harry Street of Creative Spaces comments “The business plan for the development required the ability to use the two venues simultaneously meaning the concept design had to resolve a number of potential conflicts whilst maximising the benefits arising from the use of shared facilities. The arena had to be able to be easily and quickly transformed from a concert/sports venue to a flat floor venue for exhibitions or banquets.” Similarly, the theatre can be reconfigured from a traditional 700 seat theatre to a number of different formats including 'catwalk' and 'theatre-in-the round'.
The eye-catching curves of the new Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre meant special consideration was given to roofing materials. The complex roof required considerable flexibility and consequently Dimond Styleline™ was chosen as the profile best suited to fulfil the requirements. The use of Dimond Styleline™ allowed for design freedom while still remaining cost effective.
Street explains “The most difficult challenge in regards to the roof was resolving the roof geometry to avoid detailing problems. The roof segments are based on a toroidal surface, the extent of which is defined by its intersection with other curved or conical surfaces. So the roof surface does in fact curve in two directions, however due to the generally large radii involved the toroidal geometry has been successfully approximated with straight or slightly warped elements.” Clarke Roofing was the roofing contractor responsible for the project and they developed special techniques to ensure the installation of the curved roof went as planned.
Adding further to the complexity of the construction was the 165 tonne steel truss running the length of the Pacific Events Centre which was designed to resemble a Maori waka. This huge steel structure was the result of months of careful engineering and fabrication by Grayson Engineering both at their workshop and on-site, culminating in the assembled truss being lifted into place by 3 cranes. This is thought to be New Zealand's biggest single span lift with one of the cranes a 200 tonne American crawler crane brought in specially for the project.
The end result of all the careful planning, inspired design and dedicated construction is a unique community-focused facility that aptly reflects the rich cultural tapestry of Manukau City.