It is with great excitement that we announce our newest Saint Kentigern building, the MacFarlan Centre, has been awarded Excellence at the Property Council New Zealand, Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards 2013, held on 7 June.

The Property Industry Awards are New Zealand’s most prestigious property industry awards and have been running for more than 15 years.

The Awards celebrate excellence in commercial property development and attract submissions from the country's top commercial property developments with entries going through a rigorous three month judging process, that include detailed reviews of the developments and site visits by the judging panel.

The MacFarlan Centre houses the new Administration and Student Services at the entrance to the College campus and includes a new senior student café, a Year 13 common room, and an indoor seated area for Year 12 students, in addition to space intended to accommodate any future expansion.

It is dedicated to the Reverend Dr Adam MacFarlan, the very first Headmaster of Saint Kentigern, who held his position from 1953 to 1982.

The building was officially opened by the Governor General Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae in March 2013 at the 60th Anniversary Jubilee celebrations, after an 18 month construction period. Elizabeth MacFarlan, the late Reverend’s wife was also present to cut the ribbon.

The nomination was put forward by RTA Studio, the architects who designed the MacFarlan Centre.

The award, titled the Coffey Education and Arts Property Award, was proudly received by Mr Eric Shiels, Trust Board General Manager, and Mr Greg Noble, Property Manager, at a black tie gala awards ceremony attended by over 1,000 at the Viaduct Events Centre.

Mr Shiels said that the award was great for the College, and the Trust Board staff were just buzzing at the news. He said it was a wonderful surprise as there were a high number of quality submissions.

“We’ve known that it’s a fantastic building of quality and substance and it works very well. It’s a real sense of achievement that this is now industry recognised,” said Mr Shiels.

Mr Shiels commented “Prior to the opening of the MacFarlan Centre, our previous administration building had been remodelled nine times in 11 years to accommodate growth. The opening of the Centre has now upgraded our amenities and also allows us to grow further as an organisation into the future. “

Much attention was paid in the design phase to ensure that connecting walkways and access routes to the building were well located and of an appropriate scale. In addition, numerous planters have been created around the building to complement the hard materials of the structure.

Essential qualities sought by the judging panel included economic and financial factors, project vision and innovation, design and construction, owner and user satisfaction, and sustainability and efficiency of operation.

The judging panel consisted of eight leading industry figures. Five other winners received an Excellence award in the category.

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