Communities of learning

Jasper van der Lingen investigates how extensive community consultation shaped the carefully layered communal forms of Christchurch’s new Te Aratai College by Architectus.

Photography SARAH ROWLANDS

TE ARATAI IS A COLLEGE WITH A PROUD history. Originally known as Linwood College and founded in Christchurch in 1954, it was the first coeducational secondary school started in New Zealand after the second world war. It embodied a progressive vision in the post-war baby boom times, optimistic for a new future moving beyond the horrors of the previous decade: a place less about the traditions of the past but more about a future where all were respected and could participate in education equally. These founding values have persisted through various ups and downs that schools experience over time. One of the most profound downs was the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, which struck Linwood College hard, leaving its buildings devastated. The school community led a nomadic life, starting out by sharing with…

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Architecture NZ (Digital) - 1 Issue, November-December 2023

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