Creating new legacies
WORDS Liam Stretch
When Professor Robert Julian Scott was appointed the first head of the Engineering department at Canterbury College in 1889, little did he know that his pioneering vision would lay the foundation for an innovation hub that seamlessly merges the past and the future; the arts and the sciences.
Today, this vision has culminated in the Health Technology Centre, nestled within the historic enclave of Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre in the central city’s west. In what was once the original Electrical Engineering and the Engineering extension buildings (that Professor Scott himself fervently championed), which in their time have echoed with the footsteps of students, ballet dancers, and theatre enthusiasts, are now early-stage businesses all within the health tech space.
The companies now based within the centre are involved in producing medical devices, digital health products, and support services for the health tech sector. These include Johner Institute, oVRcome, Myovolt, Calmly, The Honest Human, Kite Contented AI, and Komodo.
Health Technology Centre Manager Madeleine Martin says the centre makes perfect sense for the city.
“In Christchurch, we have a really strong health technology sector. However, there is an opportunity to improve the advisory services required to support the early-stage companies to scale. And more broadly, the aim here is to have the whole sector more connected, enable more collaboration, and ultimately support the commercialisation of health tech innovations.”
As part of The Art Centre’s multi-million dollar strengthening, rebuild, and refurbishment programme, the buildings have been brought well above code and into the 21st Century while maintaining their unique identity.
The original Electrical Engineering building now houses a communal space that allows the entrepreneurs to mingle and operates as an event space. This space hosts the Canterbury Health Innovation Network events.
“These bring the wider community into the centre and connect us with more established medical device companies that we need to make this successful.”
Madeleine says locally established companies Enztec and Ossis have been instrumental in the centre’s success.
In this building, you’ll also find the boardroom, a chamber with one of the best views of the grounds adorned with an oriel window that was once Professor Robert Julian Scott’s office.
The Bridge of Aspiration, a contemporary glass bridge, connects the original wing to the 1923 extension. Designed by Jonathan Coot of Warren and Mahoney, it reflects Canterbury’s landscape, mirroring Rita Angus’s iconic work, Cass.
The extension is where the main space of the Health Technology Centre is based. It is a modern, state-of-the-art co-working space intersected by private working pods and break-out spaces. The high ceilings bear dampening panels, making it seem cosy and reducing any possible echo associated with older buildings.
On the original wooden roof and walls, you’ll spot etched and chalked names of thespians, as this was once the rehearsal rooms and storage for The Court Theatre.
Now these burgeoning health tech companies are making theirs, continuing a legacy of the many great minds that have come before them.