James Hight Undercroft
James Hight Undercroft
| Client | University of Canterbury |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Services | Project Planning, Project Management |
| Value | $12 million |
The Undercroft is an environment for students to gather between lectures and features a central lounge, food outlets, licensed bar, retail, seminar facilities and self-catering kitchens.
The Undercroft is a very special project and signalled a recovery from the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010/2011 for the University. The facility is hugely popular with UC students, has attracted strong interest from other institutions, both in New Zealand and Australia, and has won several architectural and construction awards.
Inovo were involved from the inception of the project, engaged by UC to work through the feasibility study and business case, followed by managing the design and delivery. The under-utilised bicycle and general storage area beneath the Puaka James Hight building was selected to convert into a centrally planned double height Undercroft.
The project was delivered in three distinct stages, fast tracked over three separate summer breaks due to the central campus location and limited site access. The initial phase delivered the centrally positioned and sophisticated student lounge to replace the temporary ‘tent city’ which was developed as an initial quake response solution to house student social activity.
Food and beverage outlets were added in the second phase, opening out onto green space and bringing increased natural light and outlook. The final stage incorporated retail and seminar facilities on the upper level of the Undercroft.