Toi Manawa

Toi Manawa is a new 2,000 m2 Performing Arts Centre at King’s College - an independent secondary co-education school of 1200 students in Auckland. The centre of the school campus is a heritage precinct built in 1922 in the Collegial Gothic architectural style arranged around cloisters typical of traditional English public schools. A tree lined avenue separates academic buildings from the field. This separation between arts and sports is not only physical but reflects an inherent departmentalisation found in traditional schooling structures. Toi Manawa is the first addition to this heritage precinct and the first to unite sports and arts. It reflects a contemporary learning philosophy that rejects the traditional departmentalisation of subjects to embrace the creative and social benefits of ‘play’ – inherently found in performing arts and sports. The building is located at the western end of the campus occupying a narrow confined site wrapped around the existing school hall between heritage buildings and the field. The design synergises with the heritage frontage through reinterpreting traditional form, the use of materiality, and by applying the1:2 heritage proportion in a contemporary composition. The layout interplays between the existing campus grid and a new 45-degree rotated sub-grid. The new grid aligns the building to the sports field, establishing the connection between arts and sport. The entrance facade to Toi Manawa is a dynamic ‘Speaker Box’ formed by a perforated brick screen with a playful layout of 1:2 proportioned openings. Behind the screen are nine internal practicing stations that enable anonymous live performances. The building’s internal planning articulates the concept of ‘play’ as a learning methodology that engages curiosity, creativity, and collaboration across the performing arts. Rather than a departmentalised silo layout, the internal programs are intermingled to enable collaboration across the arts. The spatial experience is like a ‘jungle gym’, a vibrant labyrinth of interweaving circulation pathways and interconnected activities, experiences, and sensorial stimulations that encourage students to explore, play and improvise. There are multiple pathways to circulate through the building with dynamic multi-level viewshafts into practice rooms, common spaces, and the field beyond. The Foyer is a social corridor that showcases the music program which includes the Rock Room and the 70-person Orchestra Room that both have views out to the field. The Foyer serves as a function space for shows and is open to the fields during sports day events. To support the teaching functions and improvised collaborations, all spaces are designed to be highly flexible and fully integrated with acoustic insulation and AV equipment. In particular, the 250 seat Black Box Theatre is a teaching theatre equipped with sound, lighting, and set infrastructure that enable a hands-on immersive and interactive learning environment. The theatre also has an adjustable floor pit system enabling a variety of stage configurations. Toi Manawa is a place for play that unlocks the creative and imaginative potential of the arts. Through the ‘Speaker Box’, play wafts through the school's fields and cloisters, transforming the building itself into an instrument resonating music into the.