When people think of New Zealand some of the things that come to mind are rugby, picturesque landscapes and some of the world’s best wineries. As we push further into the 21st century New Zealand has taken pride in sports, scenery and sustainability as a way to draw tourism into the island nation. The Mason Brothers Building in the Wynyard Quarter in Auckland is a refurbished warehouse that has been converted into office space that is leading the nations efforts to be at the forefront of sustainability efforts in the city.
The Mason Brothers Building refurbishment was completed in 2019 having been designed in line with the Wynyard Quarter Sustainability Framework. This framework was developed for Waterfront Auckland’s commitment to “the transformation of the waterfront will demonstrate the benefits of sustainable development in environmental, social, cultural and economic terms.” (Sustainable Development Framework 2013). Some of the goals that the Waterfront Auckland framework has set out are: long-term life cycle view, adopting systems thinking and looking for integrated solutions and community engagement just to highlight a few. Within this partnership it is also important to highlight the Mana Whenua partnership that celebrates the rich history that the Maori settlement in the area highlights that has shaped Aucklands past and is imperative to the future.
In the building upgrade the Mason Brothers Building was awarded both a 6 Green Star rating and 5 Star NABERSNZ rating which was New Zealand’s first building to achieve the highest possible rating for environmental impact from the New Zealand Green Building Council. Within the upgraded building facade includes existing brickwork, a new curtain wall and new shop front glazing allowing for greater energy efficiency. One of the most interesting facts about this building is that over 70% of the construction waste by weight was required to be recycled and diverted from landfill. This shows the dedication to sustainability thought the construction process as diverting construction waste from landfill is notoriously difficult and usually does not show up on sustainability reports as they tend to be one off events.
Other aspects of the building that where taken seriously where energy, water and landscaping for the property itself. The building has water efficiency fitting that allow the conservation of water if used responsibility and low flow water fittings along with energy metering to provide occupants with the responsible use of energy. This allows for energy and water to be monitored at all times to check for leaks or overuse in order for occupants to track unnecessary use. Within wood usage in the building 94% of the timbers specified are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. The Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit that promotes the responsible management of the worlds forests via certification and having 94% of the timbers FSC certified shows increased initiative to ensure long term sustainability of the timber used.
In any project I always like to look at the innovation points that a project gets awarded as it shows where priorities are and where the project is trying to push boundaries. Mason Brothers Building was awarded points for: Pre-approved Innovation for Waterfront Auckland-Exceeding TRA-1 and Smart Precinct (2 points); Market Intelligence (1point, Financial Transparency (1 point), Material Lifecycle Impacts (5 Points). These innovation points show where the New Zealand Green Building council are focusing on the future and are helping to have current green buildings pushing the boundaries of sustainability going forward as well.
Interested in Learning More?
NZGBC Article: https://nzgbc.org.nz/case-studies/mason-brothers-building
Wynyard Quarter: https://www.wynyard-quarter.co.nz/media/lfafjpe1/sustainable-dev-framework-8c78bcfbe5.pdf