Ormiston Activity Centre - a beacon among the bland

 
It may not be for early childhood, but due to my frequent musings every time I drive past it I thought I'd share.

In the words of Linda Tyler from Architecture Now, the "technicolour dreamcoated" structure designed by ArchOffice is a "beacon in the wilderness of the 94-hectare Barry Curtis Park"



Termed the Ormiston Activity Centre, the building sits in the new Auckland development site of Flatbush, which is estimated to house 40,000 people by 2020.



Unfortunately, the area is already blighted with rows upon rows of "matchbox houses" like the above.



Hence my astonishment at witnessing the colourful "activity centre" which sticks out like  a sunny sore thumb among the dreary urban monotony.



A stair tower, meeting room for up to 80 persons, toilets and a viewing platform (over the toilet block) like building blocks, make up the elements of the building.



While precast concrete, concrete block and vertical steel flat bars coloured in cyan, magenta, yellow and green (CMYK) clad the exterior and form the balustrade above.



While I am saddened by the site's development so far, this wee youthful structure is a beacon that says there is hope for the area yet.

Via Architecture Now.