Marian College

Christchurch school rises from warehouse transformation

Sector

Education

Applications

Common areas

Architect

Sheppard & Rout

Photographer

Sarah Rowlands

Writer

Folio

Products used

Kingston

Advance Flooring

Kingston carpet tiles feature a multi-level loop pile and superior backing for enhanced acoustics and cushioning. With an organic design, these tiles offer a range of colour options to add flair or subtlety. Made for high-traffic areas, Kingston carpet tiles balance durability and style.

Havelock

Advance Flooring

Havelock carpet tiles feature an organic pattern to introduce a natural flow to interior spaces for a soothing environment. With an extensive colour range, Havelock tiles offer endless design possibilities, allowing you to customise your flooring to match your unique style and vision.

Awards

Year	Award
2024	Canterbury Architecture Awards Winner
2024	National Education Interiors Award

The Idea

Warehouse to school transformation

Sheppard & Rout Architects have transformed a supermarket warehouse into a modern educational facility for Marian College, balancing preservation and innovation to create a modern school. The colours and acoustics of Kingston and Havelock carpet tiles from Advance Flooring help tie this remarkable project together.

Marian College’s original site in Christchurch east became a red zone following the 2011 earthquakes. After securing this new site in Northcote, with the intention to remove the old warehouse, ‘instead, they chose to reuse the existing 10,000 sqm warehouse and create buildings within the building,’ says Mel North, senior interior designer at architects Sheppard & Rout. ‘As far as we are aware, this is the first school building of its kind in the world.’

THE SPACE

A cohesive campus with guiding colours

The new campus has 26 classrooms, a full gymnasium, multi-use indoor courts, a performing arts theatre, with a chapel featuring a large oak cross made from a tree on the school’s original site. The designers have used a varied colour palette of Kingston and Havelock carpet tiles to both unify the interior and demarcate the different spaces.

‘Clusters of colour are used to define various spaces, including the schools traditional red and blue – red is used for staff and communal areas, blue is used outside classrooms and student spaces, and grey flooring is used in all classrooms.’

THE SOLUTION

Flooring balances acoustics and budget

Havelock and Kingston carpet tiles are especially suited for education environments, and with Comfort Backing have an acoustic rating of 25dB, which provides the necessary noise absorption for spaces on the school’s second floor. With the tiles installed over almost 7,000 sqm, it was also essential that they be ex-stock to fit within the project’s financial constraints.

‘Budget dictated we select from stock items only and make it work with thoughtful design and colour choices,’ says Mel. ‘Advance Flooring had an amazing input into the design, showing us how we can create a special look and feel while keeping flooring costs down.’

Mel North

Sheppard & Rout

“The school buildings are square and rectangular, so a focus of the flooring was to soften the space as well as guide people through the school, like a river running through a forest.”