When building two new schools on a greenfield site in Auckland,
New Zealand, Hawkins Construction approached GHD to provide the
skills they needed to complete the project – Green Star accredited
professionals, engineering, landscape architecticture and much
more.
Situated in Flat Bush, Mission Heights Schools is actually two
schools sharing a library, administration facilities, a
gymnasium and a performing arts centre. It will eventually
cater for close to 2000 students. A ‘fast tracked’ timeframe
meant the large-scale project required swift completion.
Working closely with ASC Architects, Hawkins Construction, the
Ministry of Education and the New Zealand Green Building Council
(NZGBC), the tight timeframe dictated a strong partnering and
team approach.
This was a true example of a multi-disciplinary offering, with
GHD providing "one point of contact" for the client, in the words
of Clive Smith from Hawkins Construction. GHD could be asked
to model the schools for energy efficiency, provide a transport
plan for the area, complete the entire building services, gain
consents, or design a stormwater and wastewater system.
GHD was pivotal in bringing to the fore a reduced ecological
footprint for the schools project. With no previous Green
Star-rated schools in New Zealand, GHD worked with the NZGBC to
develop a pilot tool to rate educational buildings based on the
project experience.
The schools feature all the well-known sustainable design
features, such as solar powered hot water, toilets that flush with
rain water, classrooms that maximise natural light and construction
using environmentally-friendly materials. Lighting is intuitive and
energy efficient, and a small wind turbine has been fitted for
additional power supply and learning opportunities. The team,
however, sought to set extend the range of environmental
initiatives so students could learn more, thereby
reducing their own environmental impacts. One example is
the individually metered classrooms that report to a central
display in the library. This enables the students to see how much
energy and water has been generated and used on the site.
According to Russell Hawken, GHD's buildings business stream
manager in New Zealand, "The environmentally sustainable design of
this project will provide a blueprint for green schools of the
future. Mission Heights Schools will operate with lower operational
costs, and a healthier and improved learning environment for
students and teachers alike."