Christchurch's brand new health research building is being mocked online for the position of a large column in front of one of its entrances.
The Manawa building was opened in July as a state-of-the-art health research hub.
It is a collaboration between Ara Institute of Canterbury, the Canterbury District Health Board and the University of Canterbury and provides students with access to educational and clinical resources.
But a photo of one of the building's entrances uploaded to Reddit on Monday left many of the site's users dumbstruck.
"That's one way to stop a ram-raid robbery," one user said.
"Crappy design? It's genius, so long as people understand keeping left," another said.
"Stay left when you enter, and stay left when you exit. If they need to move large equipment through those doors? Crappy design."
"For people who are vision impaired or physically disabled I think this could be quite problematic," another said.
Christchurch architects Sheppard and Rout led the building's design. Design director David Sheppard said the column is a structural feature of the building.
This particular door was added into the design at the client's request after the pole was installed, Mr Sheppard told Newshub.
"It does look a bit odd having a column, being in the middle [of the building]."
The column runs to the top of the facade and is supported on either side by diagonal braces.
The sliding door is not the main entrance to the building nor is it the main entrance to the courtyard.
It will act as a door for a future cafe on the ground floor of the building.
"It's not a primary entrance but it's not a mistake, I can assure you," Mr Sheppard told Newshub.
An Ara communications spokesperson said the door was not the main door but an access door between the outdoor seating area and the cafe.
The spokesperson said as a co-tenant of the building, Ara could not comment on the building's design and structural features.
Newshub.
