This year, Ngā Mokopuna joins five other remarkable finalists in competition for the Bluestar Green Gold Award at the Post Gold Awards.
The new building is the first urban building in the Southern Hemisphere to undertake the Living Building Challenge®, which is framed on seven performance standards: place, water, energy, health and happiness, materials, equity, and beauty.
“The whare has been designed and built to be self-sufficient. It can generate its own electricity, collect the water it needs, and manage its own wastewater,” explains sustainability director Andrew Wilks, who will help measure the building’s performance over the next year.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Māori and Kaitiakitanga Professor Rawinia Higgins adds, “The construction of the building demonstrates our commitment to manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga—with this building we are fulfilling our strategic goals, acting with care towards people and the natural world.”
Throughout its construction and now operation, the design and performance of the building has been used as a learning and teaching tool for several academic departments across the University.
“Many of the lessons we have learned from the construction of Ngā Mokopuna are already being applied across other aspects of our operations—from furniture specification to cleaning practices,” says Andrew.
The construction of this building has also had a flow-on effect into the industry at large, explains Andrew.
“Ngā Mokopuna is 90 percent compliant with Red List—which prohibits the use of 22 toxic chemicals that are pervasive in the built environment, such as chlorofluorocarbons and PVC. The fact this can be done has prompted more Red-list approved products to become available in the market.
“Wellington is our home, and having Ngā Mokopuna named as a finalist for the Blue Green Gold Award is a fantastic opportunity for the university to highlight our sustainability goals.”
The five other finalists in the Bluestar Green Gold awards are JH Whittakers, Ngā Manu Sanctuary, Ohau gourmet mushrooms, Preston Corp, and Uniplas. The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony on Wednesday 2 July.