GRAND OPENINGS | Kaiapoi High School & Kaiapoi North School

February 12, 2018

Kaiapoi High School unveiled one of its new 23 classroom equivalent buildings to the public on Sunday, the day before the first day of the 2018 term.

Principal, Bruce Kearney, said he was excited and nervous about the debut of the buildings. "It's a bit like Christmas and getting to unwrap our new presents. I love it and I'm sure the students will feel the same."

Kearney said the building process had been streamlined and simple, which he credited to having an excellent architect, project manager and site manager.

"I know other schools have been involved in every aspect of construction. But right at the beginning we took the stand that it wasn't our place to pick toilets, door handles and taps, we'll leave that to the experts."

"Teaching in the classrooms of old were factories, students in and students out. This is a shift in focus which is much more about the relationship between students and their teachers – that's what is important to us."

Kaiapoi North School officially opened its new classroom blocks on the first day back of the 2018 term. Waimakariri District Mayor David Ayers and Waimkariri District MP Matt Doocey had the ribbon-cutting honours.

Principal, Jason Miles, said the day was a significant one in the 56 year history of the school."This is a day of old meeting the new, when the refurbished meets the rebuilt."

Year eight student JayJay Morris said he is rapt with what the buildings bring to his school. "They are awesome, the environment of us all working together is great."

Teacher Phil Henderson is also enjoying working in the new classroom. "It's completely different to the other classrooms, it has such a great feel, all working together. Despite what a lot of people probably think it's not noisy all. In fact they are really calm spaces."

All credit goes to The Press for these fantastic articles!

OUR GRAND OPENING

November 27, 2017

On the afternoon of the 23rd of November, Baldasso Cortese Noordanus held their office grand opening! With over 130 people attendees spread over several hours, the opening gave people the opportunity to see our new space and stand in the heart of the office. Our Director, William Noordanus, showed off his musical talents by playing the banjo which acted as a great icebreaker. The food and drinks accompanied by the jolly atmosphere made for a lovely night.

WE HAVE MOVED!

August 25, 2017

We are very pleased to announce that we have relocated to Level 1, 328 Durham Street North, Christchurch NZ!

You can now find us above Clarke Boyce Lawyers, with entrance and parking on Peterborough Street.

We are very excited about this new chapter and can't wait to see what comes next!

HALSWELL RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE OFFICIAL OPENING

April 13, 2017

We are very pleased to announce the completion of our project Halswell Residential College in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Lois Chick, ex-Board of Trustees Chair welcomed everyone to the opening and introduced the Honorable Nikki Kaye, Associate Minister of Education to officially open the four new Villas and Multi-Purpose Learning Building on a wet and windy day in April, however the rain did not dampen the spirit of the occasion. There was much warmth and joy at the mauri ceremony that included the return of the sod and the planting of a special tree as a symbol of the ‘life force’. The planting of the tree was undertaken by Honorable Nikki Kaye, Principal Janine Harrington and past student Scott Simons. Baldasso Cortese’s, Devkrishna Mistry ( Partner) together with William Noordanus (Director) and Tim Chaplin (Partner) from Baldasso Cortese Noordanus were joined by David Hobern and Margaret Waller from the Ministry of Education together with over 100 guests to celebrate the official opening of Stage 1 works.

‘We are very proud to have been involved in the masterplanning, design and construction of this unique facility in New Zealand. The design team undertook a very inclusive design process with the school, Board of Trustees and Ministry of Education in creating a ‘homelike’ residential environment for the students through the use of simple architectural forms and natural materials to create a safe, warm and welcoming, enhancing student behaviour and learning’ said Devkrishna Mistry

Stage 2, including the rebuild of the parent/carers accommodation is currently under construction and will see the completion of the masterplan.

Further information and images on Halswell Residential College

20:20 VISION: THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION

April 11, 2017

Peter Brown, leader of our Education sector was invited by Meinhardt Australia to speak to an audience of clients, consultants, designers, project managers and contractors as part of their initiative called 20:20 Vision. Based on the concept of PechaKucha (the Japanese word for “chit-chat”) a presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each, 20:20 Vision is a fast-paced, multiple-speaker event. Each event focuses around a Sector and Thursday 6 April launched the beginning with the topic ‘The Future of Education’ across primary, secondary & tertiary.

Peter opened the evening and presented an engaging series of slides on the future of the classroom from its traditional beginnings to the flexible, innovative and functional learning environments of today as well as how they may evolve into the future.

The other presenters on the night included Long Nguyen (University of Melbourne), Murray Walls (RMIT), John Schout (DWP), and Mark O'Dwyer (H2O Architects). The night was a great success and we were delighted to be involved in the first of hopefully many of the 20:20 Vision events. Thank you to all the organisers from Meinhardt Australia, in particular Justin Farmer their Marketing and Business Development Manager. We are looking forward to the next event 20:20 Health and Aged Care.

For a more detailed overview on the night head to the Meinhardt Australia website.