Tōtara Haumaru, New Zealand’s newest hospital opens

Tōtara Haumaru (The Sheltering Tōtara) is Aotearoa New Zealand’s newest hospital facility and the largest development at North Shore Hospital in 50 years. Designed by Jasmax, this future-focused, 19,600sqm regional healthcare hub completed for Health New Zealand anticipates the needs of the country’s fast-growing and ageing northern population. The four-storey hospital building, featuring patient and whānau-centred design, supports modern models of care and is designed to enhance the experience of patients, staff and visitors alike.

The facility incorporates state-of-the-art equipment and technology and includes an additional eight operating theatres, four endoscopy procedure rooms and five 30-bed inpatient wards, totalling an additional 150 inpatient beds. Supported by the Well Foundation and community, the building also features New Zealand’s first large-scale indoor healing garden, which provides a place of calm for patients, whānau and staff.

Designed through the unprecedented pressure of a global pandemic, high inflation, and critical supply chain issues, Tōtara Haumaru was successfully completed in three-and-a-half years. Both the design and delivery of this facility required technical capability, a collaborative approach, meticulous attention to detail and a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances. 

“Jasmax provided a full design service to Health New Zealand, combining our health planning and health architecture expertise. Alongside the dedication of our team, key to the successful completion of this facility was a strategic approach to delivery of design packages. Staging these helped to reduce cost risk in a rapidly escalating market and maintain the construction timeline, whilst Health New Zealand focused on pandemic response,” says Jasmax Principal and health sector specialist, Sarah Hayden.