Whanganui: New booth just the ticket for Cooks Gardens

UCOL senior lecturer of architectural technology and construction Marshell Putu (from left), Whanganui Venues & Events manager Dana Burdett, Whanganui District Council’s property and facilities team leader Bob Henry and UCOL’s academic portfolio manager construction David Freebairn.

Students from UCOL Te Pūkenga have designed and constructed a new ticket booth for Whanganui’s Cooks Gardens after the previous one was vandalised.

The new booth has been installed at the St Hill St entrance of the venue, following a collaboration between the Whanganui District Council and UCOL Te Pūkenga.

“We started by working with senior lecturer of architectural technology and construction, Marshell Putu, to develop a project brief, and architectural technology students used Cad [computer-aided design] software to create their designs,” Whanganui Venues & Events manager Dana Burnett said.

The designs were reviewed, taking into consideration functionality, movability and weather resistance.

“Choosing one design was difficult, but in the end we selected Eifion Paul’s design because we liked the way the slope of the ticket booth roof aligned to the hill behind it, and also how the colour scheme complemented Cooks Gardens Events Centre,” Burnett said.

Paul and the two runners-up - Jude Mitchell and Paul Snaith - worked together to create an architectural plan for the ticket booth.

Whanganui Venues & Events then worked with UCOL’s academic portfolio manager construction, David Freebairn, and their Level 3 Carpentry learners to construct the ticket booth.

“A big thank you to the UCOL construction students who volunteered their time to make my drawings become reality. It’s so exciting to see that design will have practical use for hopefully years to come,” Paul said.

The former ticket booth was removed two years ago because of vandalism. The new booth will be a semi-fixed structure and be more robust.

“It was great to be able to provide a learning opportunity while reinstating this structure,” Burdett said.

“The new ticket booth is the result of a fantastic collaboration - we wanted something that was very functional and fitted in with the existing building and the landscape, so we’re really happy with the result.”