The Selwyn District Councils Headquarters was designed to house around 150 staff in an energy efficient and sustainably designed building. Heating and cooling are provided by a high efficiency heat pump system that utilises the cold water main to produce hot water which is circulated around the building to satisfy the heating/cooling requirements. Additionally, the headquarters boasts a solar water heating system that provides up to 80% of the building’s hot water requirements.
The Waste Management Headquarters site was designed and built to achieve a 5 Star Green Star rating. The entire project team worked together from concept design through to construction with a shared vision. There is a multitude of Sustainable Design Features within this project such as the orientation of spaces and external façade to maximise ventilation and heating efficiency through thermal modelling and toilets and washdown stations using collected rainwater in external tanks, reducing domestic water demand by 90%. Energy consumption and performance metrics are automatically monitored through a futuristic BMS system which facilitates the Green Star certification process by gathering all relevant data.
In 2020, the University of Canterbury’s Beatrice Tinsley building was completed and stands as the tallest post-tensioned timber LVL building in New Zealand. It was constructed to accommodate new academic and support staff offices for the College of Science, also known as Te Rangai Putaiai. This building is designed to reduce carbon emissions significantly through the integration of two strategies: timber construction and the adaptive reuse of pre-existing structural elements. The building’s approach follows the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ mantra by prioritizing passive design features. These include natural ventilation, natural and low-toxicity material palette, minimal-energy use, and a reduced carbon footprint. As a result, the Beatrice Tinsley building provides an innovative and environmentally sustainable solution for the university.
The purpose of the redevelopment is to meet the need of future demand, take a load off Middlemore Hospital, and provide improved access to healthcare services resulting in an increased capacity that is urgently required to avoid further compromising of services within the region. Our objective is to design and distribute suitable Building Services designs that will meet standards and set criteria, potential opportunities for environmentally sustainable design (ESD) and where required Green Star aspirations and opportunities to form part of the project’s ecological goals and objectives set on guiding priorities and fiscal constraints. we are looking to achieve Green Star aspirations by initially reviewing Green Star ratings and possibilities on a per-building and site-wide basis. Once individual evaluations are complete a tailored approach is applied to each of these components to ensure suitable impact and cost-effective Green Star pathways are achieved, currently the expectation is to exceed minimum 4-star requirements where financially viable.