Isabella Mercado, who will graduate with a Master of Building science in December, was given the opportunity to work alongside the University’s Sustainability Team in late 2025 to conduct a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of the building.
As one of the world’s most environmentally responsible buildings, Ngā Mokopuna aspires to meet the Living Building™ certification, which is framed on seven performance standards—place, water, energy, health and happiness, materials, equity, and beauty.
The LBC aims to transform how people think about their built environment—it enables us to do the right thing for the people, the whenua, and for the future. It demonstrates the University’s commitment to manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga, and to acting with more care towards people and the natural world.
Bella says to “see sustainability and stewardship embedded at that scale was really cool.
“It was a really great opportunity for me to see what an LBC building was like on a day to day basis.”
Throughout the design and construction of Ngā Mokopuna, the building was used as a learning tool for students.
Bella’s internship manager, Manutaki—Director, Sustainability Andrew Wilks says having Bella conduct a Post Occupancy Evaluation was a great continuation of that.
As part of the POE, Bella surveyed the regular occupants of Ngā Mokopuna, measuring health, wellness, productivity, and a connection to nature.
“Rather than simply undertaking a box-ticking survey,” says Andrew, “Bella delivered a much deeper investigation into how well the building is working for the occupants, with much richer feedback.
“We suspected that occupants would like the building, but it was great that Bella’s research revealed just how well received the building has been. When Ngā Mokopuna was compared to other similar buildings—it got better scores in every category,” he says.
Productivity stood out as a key strength in Bella’s findings— more than half of regular occupants reported the building had enhanced their productivity.
Associate Professor Michael Donn from the School of Architecture says Bella’s research combined contemporary and historic POE methods.
“Alongside a conventional survey-based POE informed by Emeritus Professor George Baird’s expertise, she used the hui walk-through approach developed at Te Kura Waihanga in the 1980s by David Kernohan, John Daish, and John Gray. The hui process provided valuable insight into the reasons behind the survey numbers."
Bella says her work on the evaluation allowed her to learn more about the differences, and similarities, in how people experience and use spaces.
“This experience taught me to lean in into all my different curiosities, and that’s something that I will carry forward in my work.”
Bella initially started at Te Herenga Waka with an architecture degree but after getting more exposed to building science papers, she realised that building science and the way buildings worked was something she was interested in—so she ended up pursuing both.
Having completed her studies Bella now works in the building performance space, where she sees the real world implications of things she previously studied.
Looking back at her time at Te Herenga Waka, she says she is most proud of saying yes to as many opportunities as possible
“Doing that helped me get the best out of my university experience,” she says.