Our new sustainability Tamaki facilities
Our goal was to build a world-class research facility and an example of sustainable design, for a similar cost to a conventional building
 The Atrium in the Tamaki Building. Image - Sunday Star Times |
Over Easter, our Auckland staff moved into their new purpose-built facility — New Zealand’s most environmentally-advanced commercial building. It is the culmination of two years planning and construction, and it exemplifies resource-efficient design for the future. The building, on the edge of the University of Auckland’s Tamaki campus, is home to 100 staff from Manaaki Whenua and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), plus the 6.5 million insects in the national arthropod collection and 500,000 fungal specimens from the national mycology collection, all of which (specimens included) have very particular requirements.
One potential downside of the move was that many staff would have to travel further to their place of work. We acknowledged this and worked with staff to ensure that appropriate levels of financial compensation were available in the form of transport allowances or relocation costs.
Our goal was to build a world-class research facility that also provided a clear, strong example of economic sustainable design to urban businesses, developers and government. We achieved our goal for $11.4 million, close to the cost of a comparable conventional building. The key was smart design, especially in the pre-construction phase, e.g., modelling building materials to optimise passive heating and lighting.
Energy conservation was a priority. A central atrium ensures natural light and ventilation is available for virtually all offices. Insulation, which is more than double the recommended level, is layered between external cladding and thick inner concrete walls that act as passive thermal regulators (warming on cold days, cooling on hot days). Innovative mechanical services ensured that all possible heat from refrigeration equipment is recycled to warm the offices. Solar panels and a small windmill help provide on-site energy.
Water conservation was another priority. Rainwater from the roof is collected for irrigating the glasshouse complex, and for flushing urinals and ground floor toilets in the main building. Waterless composting toilets on the first and second floors provide compost for the gardens.
Stormwater is a major contributor to Auckland’s urban flooding and coastal pollution. Our contribution to the municipal stormwater is drastically reduced because we re-use rainwater on site. A permeable surface in the car park further reduces run-off (and contaminants). Water in excess of the amount the soil can absorb flows down the gentle slope to be absorped in the soak area. A rain garden will be retro-fitted to further increase stormwater absorption. Any residual water passes into the municipal stormwater system, but it is greatly reduced in volume and has been cleansed by natural soil processes.
The many sustainable features of the building are being monitored as part of Manaaki Whenua’s on-going research programme on low impact urban design and development. We believe that by proving the benefits, others will be encouraged to adopt similar low impact approaches. We don’t claim to have the perfect solution but we believe we have a model that others can improve on for a more sustainable future.
Comment from EECA
“This is a great example of buildings of the future being built today. The concepts of thermal mass and passive heating have been proven for thousands of years and it is great to see them being used in a well thought out and cost-effective manner in a new building.
We look forward to monitoring the performance of this building, learning about what does work well and what needs tweaking and, importantly, helping to spread the word so that others can replicate and mainstream this type of highly efficient building design.”
Russell Baillie, Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Authority (EECA)
| Key sustainability aspects of this building are: | |
 |
Economic: Construction costs were similar to those of a conventional building of the same nature but operating costs should be up to 60% less. Social: Staff have a good work environment with excellent specialist facilities. Environmental: The building’s greatly reduced energy use and reduced reliance on municipal stormwater and sewage infrastructure exemplifies low impact urban design and development |
|
|
Dr Maggie Lawton
Email |
Talk
to us! 
n
our website 
 Back |
Next |