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Te Wharekura o Mauao - Maori Immersion School, Bethlehem

Te Wharekura o Mauao is the first full-immersion Maori secondary school in Bethlehem, Tauranga. It is located on a Greenfield site on the edge of wetlands in Bethlehem and has a commanding view of Mauao (Mount Maunganui). With the capacity to educate 450 students from Year 7 to Year 13, construction began in April 2011 and Te Wharekura o Mauao was officially opened in February 2012.

The school consists of six buildings; a multi-purpose building, an administration building, two teaching studios, a cultural learning centre and a caretakers shed. The overall building footprint is 3,300m2 and Marra Construction was awarded as the main contractor of the $8 million construction segment of the project .

The building design ranged from simple to very complex, including curved structures and specialist insitu concrete wall systems where very skilled labour resources were required. Challenging aspects included the large floor area and achieving completion of a difficult build within a tight time frame.

Features include curved in-situ concrete wall systems, laminated timber and steel beam roof structures which were curved or faceted. The central theme of the building’s design sought to replicate the curvature of Mount Maunganui’s base and other features such as the mountain’s north-eastern bluff.

Testimonials

Te Wharekura O Mauao Gallary