Greytown School is nestled in the heart of Greytown, a rural town in the centre of the Wairarapa and caters to years 1 - 8. The school opened in 1857 and has a long-standing history of providing high-quality education and a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities for children in the area. The school’s roll has grown in recent times as families move to Greytown from larger cities for a change of lifestyle, or to return home after time away.

Initially, the project brief was for a new block equivalent to 5 classrooms to replace the senior block but was extended to include a second block for roll growth which added a further 4 teaching spaces. The first block was completed and opened in February 2022, and in consultation with Papawai Marae has been named Tahorahina. This is the name of the section of land that the school sits on and was one of the original settlements in Greytown. The staff and students of the Kauri team (year 7/8) occupy the space.

Greytown is known for its beautiful heritage buildings, so while the new buildings are modern in form, they have been designed to respect their context. Traditional claddings and heritage-influenced verandah posts have been incorporated, along with the school’s refreshed paint scheme to ensure the blocks harmonise with their surroundings. An intimate gable ceiling has been used internally between the two studios within each block as a nod to the traditional house form, a motif carried through in the window seats and some custom joinery handles.

“When developing the interiors we wanted to celebrate the vibrant red of the students’ uniform by creating a soft and restful backdrop. We kept the wall and ceiling linings clean and simple, looking to the flooring to add a point of interest into the design. Internally each block has its own distinct colour palette, blue hues for the first block (symbolising local awa/rivers) and green hues for the second roll growth block (symbolising local whenua/land). We brought these hues through into the flooring and utilised an assortment of tiles to build a bold, textured, sweeping pattern across the spaces. Because this graphic pattern spans horizontally it is alluring rather than dominating, and a great way to link the studios and breakout rooms to one another. The Interface carpet collection used offers colour customisation, so we took the opportunity to personalise a standard tile which already had green and blue flecks by adding in a red yarn to respond to their uniform colour” – Ashton Dooley, McKenzie Higham Architects.

To create contemporary, welcoming, and functional spaces that reflects the school’s values, Interface Look Both Ways Collection was chosen for the flooring design. The collection combines a vast array of colours, textures and patterns which have been mixed, resulting in one cohesive design that seamlessly blends playful patterns and urban textures. The carpet tiles were used to create an exciting mixture of colours and shapes across the floor, developing a beautiful and functional design that encourages movement through the spaces. Step This Way is one of the unique patterns that was chosen for the project, which provided an interesting mixture of colours and shapes that complementing the school’s unique colour palette.

The Look Both Ways collection provides playful patterns and urban textures that are perfect for creating a modern and functional learning environment that reflects the school’s values. It is also important to note the functional inclusion of Step Repeat, SR999 is an entrance matting which functions essentially as an insurance policy for the floor. Capturing and removing water, grit and dirt as people enter the buildings, significantly reducing soiling and cleaning and maintenance costs for the school over the building’s lifetime.

The selected Interface Carpet Tiles and Forbo Vinyl has provided Greytown School with a distinctive, contemporary and comfortable learning environment for current and future generations.

Interface’s Look Both Ways Collection and SR999 offers:

• 15-year full performance warranty

• Life-time anti-microbial

• Closed-loop recyclability at end-of-life.

• Carbon Neutral for the full product lifecycle of the floor

Congratulations McKenzie Higham Architects on an exceptional result, thank you for choosing Carbon Neutral Floors by Interface.