Top community centre

By Frank Neill

The Newlands Community Centre has been named among the best in the world.

That also makes it the best community centre in New Zealand, as it was the only one from Aotearoa to make the list.

The Newlands centre is one of the 30 most beautiful and modern worldwide, the Social Work Degree Centre says.

“Social work is tough, and practising in a drab, uninspiring, and outdated community centre certainly doesn’t help,” the Social Work Degree Centre says.

“Fortunately for recent social work graduates, many modern community centres around the globe offer a whole host of facilities to keep locals and employees happy.”

The Newlands Community Centre is “directly behind a shopping centre and next to a tavern, so the visibility of the building was one of the challenges that local firmCCM Architectsfaced creating its blueprint,” the citation for the centre states.

“Residents of the area were also consulted during the centre’s design, with the unique, transparent final product aiming to bring together different generations and interests.

“The multipurpose community centre, which opened to the public in November 2009, hosts

The a variety of classes and activities.

“It also boasts a toy library for children, computer facilities for the technologically minded, an average-sized meeting room that can fit about 10 people, a large

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Zumba and potluck fun

meeting room accommodating approximately 50 seated visitors, and a performance venue.”

The citation also noted that the centre was “tucked away in a back street”.