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OCTOBER 2009

Unitec's Mt Albert Campus has been given a strategy for a green future through the development of a structure plan that addresses future growth options in a sustainable manner while at the same time supporting Unitec’s academic mission.  At the core of the strategy was the balancing of the spheres of social, economic, environmental and cultural susutainability when assessing the various development options.

In the current environment of reduced public spending and Unitec’s growth plans of building satellite campuses, maximising the inherent value of the strategically important Mt. Albert Campus was key to the long term financial stability of the Institution.  To improve social outcomes well into the future, our leading urban designers offered strategies such as improving the student experience, mixing land uses, sharing facilities and increasing the resident population.  The site’s capacity to accommodate growth whilst respecting natural features and heritage sites was also recognised in order to retain the intrinsic value of the site.

The four spheres of sustainability, social, economic, environmental and cultural were the basis of considerations when weighing up the range of development strategies for the site.  In this way our urban designers were able to offer the Unitec Council a structure plan that balanced the needs, opportunities and potential conflicts arising out of the options for growth.  For a campus that currently delivers quality education to almost 20,000 students daily and occupies approximately 55 hectares of prime real estate there is a great benefit in having a blueprint for a green future.

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