TKU Clubhouse: A Symbol of Unified Momentum

Copeland Associates Architects' Innovative Design Wins Silver A' Design Award

The design stands out for its unique properties. It is a single-story pavilion, sited at a focal point in clear view of all surrounding football pitches. The pavilion is connected internally through gentle ramps, reaching a metre above ground level and extending beyond internal spaces to provide extensive raised viewing terraces. Its form is expressed through a floating sculptural roof resting on a series of eleven steel triangulated supports rising from the plinth.

The design concept was brought to life using a muscular structure fabricated from standard steel sections that have digitally-defined progressive shifts along the length of the building. The pre-cast concrete panels in the changing room area provide weight at the back, enabling the more playful and opportunistic spaces towards the north to open up between the sticks of the steel frame.

The clubhouse is accessed via a central arterial circulation hallway connecting changing rooms to the main club room space. It operates as a multi-use community pavilion, accommodating football and other community-based events. The building's location improves field utilisation of its surrounding and becomes an anchor for newly integrated circulation of the whole park.

The design project, located at Keith Hay Park, Mt Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand, began as a concept in 2010 and has seen numerous iterations, evolving from 2 storey schemes to single storey to meet requirements for accessibility, functions, progressive growth and overall operations of the whole park. The design is now nearing completion of design documentation with construction set to begin later in 2017.

The design faced a multitude of constraints such as height limits, functionality, budget and raising the building above the flood plain whilst keeping it accessible to all. Despite these challenges, the design team managed to create a balanced design that is both economically viable and aesthetically pleasing.

The TKU clubhouse was awarded Silver in A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2017. The award recognises top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation. This accolade is a testament to the design's strong technical characteristics, splendid artistic skill, and remarkable level of excellence.