The Athletics Centre required a covered stand with a seating capacity of 500 and associated control office and photo finish room – all to be arranged along the finishing straight of the recently completed all weather track.

The Athletics facility is also to include a lounge with kitchen and toilet facilities plus storage/meeting rooms, to cater for the existing athletics and harriers clubs, which are currently scattered through the Whangarei District.

Whangarei Gymnastics required a 49.0 x 32.0 building with an average height of approx 8.0m, to be used for training and national level gymnastics competitions.

During the design development it was decided that the Gymnastics and Athletics Centre’s could be combined. As a result the building formed a more holistic approach also providing facilities for the ajoining Kensington Park sports fields.

New public toilets, changing rooms and referee’s areas were included for the sports field to the inner area of the athletics track. The Athletics Club and Gymnastics Association also gained a significant cost saving by reducing and sharing the associated support facilities.

The building itself has been designed to maximise the potential for natural light and ventilation whilst still retaining good thermal insulation. Careful attention has been paid to minimise the intrusion of direct sunlight whilst reducing the need for artificial lighting.