Firth paving on show at St Mary's College
Auckland's St Mary's College has transformed its quad into a vibrant, practical space that combines intricate culturally inspired patterns with a robust paving solution. As part of wider drainage upgrades to address flooding, the Ponsonby school chose a mix of Firth 80mm pavers in different colours, finishes and formats to bring its new design to life.
Stuart Mackie, Senior Principal at Chow:Hill, says that early in the design process the school requested that the quad not be a solid concrete area. The thinking was that if future work or maintenance was required, pavers could be easily lifted, replaced or reused.
"Once the decision was made to use pavers, cost, durability and robustness were the next factors we needed to consider. Firth's concrete pavers are 80mm thick, which was important as the quad occasionally has vehicles on it during events. The range of colours was another key factor, as it allowed us to create the desired patterns and highlight particular features, such as the central cross and four-square courts."
Stuart says availability was also important with the required colours and finishes required within a tight timeframe. Coordination of deliveries was particularly important as the work needed to fit around the school holidays, minimising disruption for students and contractors.
“We have used Firth for years as their pavers and service are great,” says Paul Porter-Howland, Operations Manager at Pavecraft, the specialist paving company selected to install the intricate pattern. “I have worked with Taylah from Firth for a number of those years. She is very knowledgeable and coordinated the delivery of the varied range of pavers required.”
“This project had been a long time in the making, as it was originally planned for the 2024/25 Christmas break but was pushed back a year,” says Taylah Inancsi, Sales Representative (Auckland) for Firth. “Once the order was placed, the paving was delivered onsite at the end of February. Pavecraft then had a tight turnaround, with just one month to complete the work before students returned for the new school year.”
The quad features a wide range of 80mm pavers and finishes, including Piazza, Forum, Holland and Holland Sets in Glacier, Hamilton Mix, Volcanic Ash, Sumner and Black Sands, with both fair-faced and honed options. In total, just under 15,000 pavers were used across 14 different formats, most of them made to order.
“Pavecraft did an amazing job of laying the intricate paving pattern,” adds Taylah. “It looks amazing.”
“Firth was very helpful with the supply of samples and with the coordination required to get the paving onsite, as it came from various locations,” adds Stuart. “The client is very happy with the result and so are we.”
The completed quad is a vibrant space that brings together practical design, intricate paving patterns and a strong sense of identity, reflecting the school’s community, connection to whenua and the blending different cultures.