December 2023 - Bay of Plenty Business News

December 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 9
ARCHITECT – URBAN DESIGN
Design Engine Architects
A blue-sky vision for the Tauranga of tomorrow
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MARK WASSUNG,
Architect
Accepting “more of the
same” in Tauranga’s urban
design spaces at such a crucial
time in the city’s development
history is furthest from the mind
of Design Engine Architects directors
Mark and Abigail Wassung.
After seven years based in Tauranga
having moved over the hill
from Hamilton, they are excited
about what Tauranga city could
become in the coming decade,
and the role Design Engine can
play in shaping that future.
Mark envisions Tauranga and
Hamilton as one city in the next
10 years, connected by high-speed
rail with passenger train stations
through a new Kaimai Tunnel
that is multimodal ie. for trains,
trucks, cars and cyclists/pedestrians,
connected to Tauranga Connect
multimodal transport network
with buses, trains, ferries
and cycle routes, plus two new
four lane bridges high enough
to allow ferries under, to replace
the existing Turret Road bridge
and Maungatapu bridge to enable
better flow across the roading
network.
“As a company we have always
looked outside the usual boundaries
of conventional design, we are
more about the ‘what if’ rather
than the ‘what is’, and never has
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1. The New Consult 365 Papamoa Clinic medical centre open 24/7. 2. Tauranga “Kupenga,” a cable car transport
network. 3. High-End Residential Beach House. 4. Modular, prefabricated smart solar bus shelters design.
the city been better poised to benefit
from this sort of thinking,”
says Mark.
Design Engine’s portfolio of
work spans the Bay of Plenty and
Waikato, comfortably encompassing
a range of projects as varied
as a thermal and mineral water
resort, transport hub, ocean terminal,
train station, a medical
centre, eco housing subdivision,
10,000 m2 super workshop/solar
farm and a multi-generation family
beach home.
The ease of working between
different design functions and
regions is matched to Design
Engine incorporating many of the
leading-edge concepts and technology
into their building designs.
The new Papamoa Consult 365
Clinic medical centre open 24/7
with 8-minute wait times, highlights
Design Engine’s emphasis
upon place and people in its
design.
Drawing strongly off its seaside
locale, the centre’s design
touchpoints have captured the
beach that plays such a big part in
the lives of so many of its patients.
Flowing wave forms, islands,
trees, and green walls are visual
cues for patients and visitors to
enhance movement through the
clinic, while a shell shaped area
defines the reception area and
waiting zones are defined by
beach shaped flowing form areas.
“This is a prototype design that
we can see being applied elsewhere
in the Bay of Plenty, it is a
visually appealing, bold, colourful
design that provides a calming,
comfortable and safe sanctuary.”
In the nuts-and-bolts reality
of building construction, Design
Engine is increasingly incorporating
cutting-edge materials
that turn buildings into smart,
eco-friendly, energy efficient
structures.
Materials like paper thin
solar cells, hydro ceramics and
bio-based building products are
enabling clients to sensitively
integrate their buildings with
their environment, minimising
carbon footprints, and optimising
energy efficiency.
Design Engine took many
of these modern materials and
incorporated them into their
bright solution for new city bus
shelters in Tauranga.
The prefabricated smart solar
bus shelters design takes a modular,
relocatable approach to the
structure, with a solar powered
unit to light up signs, timetables,
and security cameras.
Design Engine has also
designed a small 20-seat electric
bus that provides fast, frequent,
reliable, and affordable transport.
Often the smartest and most
commercially sensible move
when seeking a more modern
facility is to adapt an existing
building, upgrading it to meet the
environmental, economic and
community expectations that go
with modern design.
Design Engine has the skills
to capture an old building’s
strengths to leverage it into a new
lease on life. “Adaptive reuse” can
help reduce the waste generated
through demolition and see an old
building re-purposed and back
into a new life cycle far quicker
than opting for the expense and
time taken in building a new one.
Design Engine’s DNA has
blue sky thinking unapologetically
embedded within it. This
goes beyond just the buildings
they have worked with clients
on, to include a number of proposals
promoting alternative
means of travel reducing reliance
upon private cars, options
that stretch beyond the usual
definitions of “public transport.”
This has included the Tauranga
“Kupenga,” a cable car transport
network running across the harbour
to Bayfair, and up to downtown
Mount Maunganui.
Kupenga would remove dozens
of vehicles off the road and
provide a unique public transport
solution for the city.
“We see huge opportunities
for intensification of living in
the Tauranga city area in coming
years. This obviously includes the
Cameron Road area, but could
also include the Maungatapu Peninsula,
with its unparalleled views
and proximity to the city, it just all
has to be linked up better.”
Taking the latest in design technology
and materials, creating
buildings that respect the people
and the environment they exist
for and within, means Design
Engine is poised to play a crucial
part in shaping the Tauranga of
tomorrow, creating a liveable city
for all the generations choosing it
as their home.
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CULTURAL CENTRE
CONNECTIVITY | SUSTAINABILITY
COLLABORATION | SYNERGY
DESIGN ENGINE is a Tauranga
based group of architects, urbanists,
and inventors working on
transformational projects throughout
Aotearoa. We can assist you
with concept designs and ideas that
can prepare you and your business
to achieve maximum sustainable
growth, future proofing and creating
an environment that people want to
live, work and play in. We want to
be associated with companies that
are making positive change.
COMMERCIAL | TOURISM
CULTURAL | INFRASTRUCTURE
MEDICAL | 3D PRINTING
DESIGNER HOMES
www.designengine.co.nz
CONTACT MARK WASSUNG 021 138 3739 mark@designengine.co.nz