Auckland's first five-star environmentally sustainable building is approved

The City Development Committee has approved the construction of a ventilated weather screen façade on the BNZ building at 80 Queen Street.

 

The design of the proposed building, which is currently under construction, is highly sustainable and incorporates features to reduce energy use.

One such feature is a ventilated weather screen façade on six levels of the north and west sides of the building. The façade projects over the road boundary on Fort Street by less than 300mm and on Queen Street by between 300mm and 450mm.

The deputy chairperson of the City Development Committee, Councillor Graeme Mulholland, said the committee approved the façade because it has positive urban design merits and constitutes a public good.

"The fact that the development is the first five-star Greenstar rated building in Auckland reflects the wider council's aspirations of developing a greener building stock."

"In addition, the features of the façade are highly congruent with the design of the building and will have a minimal impact on the urban design of Queen Street," he said.

The Greenstar rating is awarded by the New Zealand Green Building Council and is an internationally recognised rating tool for the third party certification of buildings.

There are a number of sustainable design features in the development. Most of the bathrooms' flush water will come from water tapped from the roof, to ease the strain on Auckland's drinking water supply.

The building also has a low energy design, using 90 kilowatts an hour per square metre per annum, compared to an average Auckland building's 300 to 500 kilowatts an hour per square metre per annum. Timber is being supplied from sustainable forests.