These eleven- and four-story Argosy Property buildings are home to Statistics New Zealand and The Ministry for the Environment. We acted as the ESD Consultants for the projects which ran for around seven years.
Refurbished with sustainability in mind, these buildings and fit outs have achieved a total of four Green Star ratings. The 8 Willis Street base build and Statistics New Zealand fit out each achieving 6-Star Green Star ratings for base-building and interiors respectively. Similarly, the 360 Lambton Quay base build and Ministry for the Environment fit out each achieved 5-Star Green Star ratings.
8 Willis Street was able to achieve the highest possible Green Star rating through a mixture of sustainable features and a design with occupant wellbeing in mind. Once the tenant was confirmed we chaired a ‘green committee’ which included the landlord, tenant, main consultants and contractor. The combined approach between landlord and tenant in particular meant not only that there was a high level of integration for the fit-out work, but also that any capital cost increases for ‘green features’ could be shared between the two parties for improved investment returns.
This also resulted in extending the Green Star target to 6-Stars, with the project attaining the rating at the built stage without the inconvenience of a design review. The project also won all ten innovation points, one of the first New Zealand buildings to do so.
Particular building systems contributing to the Green Star rating include a very efficient thermally broken commercial façade, and rainwater harvesting. Rainwater is collected from the roof of the building and stored to be used as a non-potable water supply reducing the buildings demand on potable water. The domestic hot water system uses solar heat in a refrigeration loop as a heat source as opposed to standard electrical hot water cylinders, leading to substantial energy savings.
Research was carried out on many of the products used in the base build and fit out, including, paints, ceilings, and furniture to ensure that they had evidence of low VOC (volatile organic compound) content, with the aim to improve the air quality within the building. Additionally, research was conducted into the sustainability of the same products, products with sustainability initiatives such as, Eco-labels (ECNZ, GECA, etc.), EPDs and recycled content were used throughout the building. On the tenants’ side, much of the furniture was reused from previous tenancies.
360 Lambton Quay has achieved a 5-Star Green Star rating through a reduction in embodied carbon, good sustainable practice, and the retention of heritage elements.
One of the largest contributors to this targeted rating is the substantial reuse of heritage elements in the building, this includes the famous façade, which apart from being restored was generally left untouched. Along with this the heritage roof of Level 2 was retained, a large amount of work going into deconstructing the roof then numbering and storing the wooden boards before piecing the roof back together as it was.
Additional contributors included an air rate of 100% over building code, an intelligent and efficient lighting system and significant energy use reduction compared to a standard practice building.
Throughout both projects 335 Ltd acted as ESD Consultants; providing information on design choices, gathering and preparing Green Star documentation and finally submitting all ratings. This included NABERSNZ ratings, with both buildings attaining 5.5 Stars – true testament to the collaborative design approach bringing results.