TECH FARM : an innovation hub for green design and clean technology at Wynyard Quarter, Auckland : the design for an intellectual ecosystem for sustainable technology innovation that enables creativity, productivity and teamwork by using the “Community of Practice” concept

Abstract

This thesis is an architectural response to the major environmental issues facing society. One of those challenges is climate change. This issue will likely get worse – the atmospheric CO2 has just reached 400 parts per million due to human emissions, but we still do not see a coordinated global political action to stop the rise in green house gas emissions. At the same time, the number of people living in cities around the globe is set to rise from 3 billion in the year 2000, to 5 billion in 2030.1 The urban population explosion will create an unprecedented demand for housing, amenities and the necessities of everyday life, and result in increasing greenhouse gas emissions – ultimately putting a tremendous strain on our planet. Only an enormous investment into urban technology innovation can deliver the growth in urbanisation without wrecking the global ecosystem. Tech Farm, Wynyard Quarter is a thoughtfully designed innovation institute, where New Zealand can develop solutions to the world’s sustainability challenges in an accelerated manner. With the recent rise of the “innovation cluster” typology - with examples such as Silicon Valley in California - and the subsequent specialised activities and goals within these forms; architecture has had unique problems to solve. Knowledge based industries develop successfully in regional clusters, because they enable knowledge to be exchanged, and possess a critical mass of skills that complement one another. The question for the architectural profession is: Does architecture have a role to play in creating workspaces that inspire creativity and productivity?

This project is an exploration and detailed synthesis, based on literature reviews, precedent studies and site analysis, of how one piece of architecture can be designed to encourage the creation of an “Intellectual Ecosystem for Synergy”. The aim is to create a design guideline template for creativity, productivity, teamwork and community.

Tech Farm has achieved these goals with the discovery of the five principles for designing innovation buildings.

1.) The three L’s facing an Internal Atrium, Courtyard and Sky bridges. 2.) Semi Open Plan format with Partitions and Lounges. 3.) Brainstorming Pods and Meeting Pods. 4.) Diverse and intelligent arrangement of spaces for different work modes. 5.) Informal Organisational Culture developed through interior design.