New retail, service and health facilities have now opened at the Rolleston Square Shopping Centre in Selwyn District as another stage of the development reaches completion. The Rolleston township is predicted to grow from 9600 residents to almost 26,000 by 2028.
Australasian design firm The Buchan Group was appointed by Rolleston Square in 2012 to develop and implement a masterplan for the expanded town centre.
Buchan Group practice manager Raylene McEwan said the project was a prime example of new community spaces for district centres.
“With a focus on natural elements, the complex has been designed as a domestic scale 1800m2 building to fit within the existing town’s residential framework.
“Only good-quality design materials have been used, including raw finished products such as concrete, ply, glass and galvanised steel.”
The complex has an Importance Level Four rating from Structex Engineers for “structures designed with special post disaster functions” and self-contained electricity generation and water supply enabling the medical centre to be converted into an emergency hub for epidemic or natural disaster triage.
“To design a medical centre which caters to staff and patients, the team created a fullscale cardboard mock-up of the interior, providing a unique opportunity to test the practicality and functionality of the centre.
Critical feedback from doctors, nurses and administrators was then incorporated before final approval,” she said. The new complex provides an integrated family health centre, Coffee Culture café, Westpac Bank, Upmarket Hair Salon, Unichem pharmacy and Snap Fitness gym.