Tukutuku - AUT A1 North Campus
Tukutuku is a four-storey timber learning facility on AUT's North Campus in Northcote, Auckland, serving as the social and academic heart of the campus.
Spanning approximately 9,000m², it houses the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences and School of Education, accommodating around 2,000 students and 200 staff.
The building integrates with and refurbishes an existing four-level AF building, connected via a soaring timber atrium. Its innovative post-tensioned LVL structure and passive-first sustainability approach make it AUT's most sustainable building and one of New Zealand's lowest-carbon tertiary facilities.
CLIENT
Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
LOCATION
Auckland, New Zealand
COMPLETED
2024
Our Scope
MDA provided acoustic consulting services from preliminary design through to construction and commissioning. Our scope covered sound insulation design for the building envelope and internal partitions, room acoustic design for teaching and learning spaces, building services noise control, and an extensive physical mock-up testing programme to address the acoustic challenges posed by the lightweight timber floor system. We produced acoustic design reports at each project stage and undertook commissioning measurements on completion.
CHALLENGES
The unconventional post-tensioned LVL floor structure presented significant acoustic challenges — particularly for impact sound isolation and low-frequency flanking transmission, which are inherently more difficult to control in lightweight construction than in conventional concrete-framed buildings. To manage this risk, MDA led mock-up testing programme, enabling floor and ceiling solutions to be developed and acoustically verified before being committed to construction.
mock-up testing programme
Awards
2026 New Zealand Timber Design Awards - Sustainable Development Awards - Category Winner
2026 New Zealand Timber Design Awards - Mid-Rise Building Design Award - Highly Commended
2026 Property Council New Zealand Industry Awards - Sustainable Building - Excellence
2026 Learning Environments Australasia - New Buildings/Facilities (Large) - Joint Category Winner
2025 Property Council New Zealand Industry Awards - Education Award - Excellence
2025 Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects - New Zealand Award - Education
2025 Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects - Auckland Award - Education
2025 Interior Awards - Education Award
2025 New Zealand Commercial Project Award - Education - Gold
PROJECT TEAM
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