B201, University of Auckland

B201

New Zealand’s highest Green Star-rated building for the University of Auckland

World-leading, low carbon design

The refurbished B201 Building for the University of Auckland is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most sustainable developments and a world-leading exemplar of low carbon design. The project has transformed a 50-year-old building that had reached end-of-life and was slated for demolition, into a state-of-the-art academic environment, ready for another 50 years of use. The design provides a new gateway into the City Campus, with a spectacular timber-roofed atrium opening onto Symonds Street.

Adaptive reuse and low carbon design strategies have resulted in B201 emitting half the embodied carbon and requiring only a third the average energy of an equivalent new building. This performance led to the project receiving 6 Green Stars for Design and earning the most points awarded to any building from the New Zealand Green Building Council to date, categorising it as ‘world-leading’. Repurposing the existing structure also reduced the length of construction by one year, accruing cost savings of 25% when compared to replacement. Providing a state-of-the-art home for the faculties of Education and Social Work, Arts, and Creative Arts and Industries, B201 provides a pathway to generating substantial cost savings whilst meeting world-leading sustainability goals.

Key strategic decisions to reduce carbon included replacement of the original heavyweight concrete cladding with lightweight, high-performing curtain walling largely made from recycled aluminium. This significantly reduced the load on the existing structure and extended its functional life for a further 50 years. The thermally efficient cladding also minimises heat gain through optimal glazing-to-wall ratios, high-performance glass and industry-leading passive house air-tightness design principles, enabling an ‘ultra-low energy’ mechanical ventilation system.

Celebrating the site’s rich history

Consultation on the design was undertaken with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, whose hapū representatives shared narratives of the site’s setting above the historic Waipapa village and Te Tōangaroa foreshore – a significant waka landing, where sustenance, knowledge and culture were exchanged. The design expresses this kōrero, acknowledging the site’s rich legacy, while celebrating the University’s bicultural values.

The act of binding, as demonstrated through the weaving of tukutuku panels, signifies the exchange and release of kōrero, of knowledge and of energy – this idea conceptually underpins the project. Traditional tukutuku designs incorporating ara moana and pātiki (flounder) patterns are expressed throughout the design. The bold lines of the ara moana pattern symbolise the many pathways our ancestors travelled in settling new lands. This zigzag is replicated in the distinctive hybrid glulam timber roof form which encloses the double-height atrium, creating a civic and welcoming presence on Symonds Street, as well as the podium screen facing Wynyard Street. The pātiki pattern, representing generosity and welcome, is also visible in the timber members arranged in a diamond formation to create the new atrium roof.

This project highlights how we can avoid bowling our existing spaces and instead adapt and reuse them, massively slashing our carbon emissions while creating a space fit for the future. To meet our climate change goals and create a zero-carbon future, we need more of the leadership and partnership demonstrated here by the likes of the University of Auckland, Jasmax and Beca. This is a truly world-leading, innovative building.

— Simon Neale, Chief Property Officer at University of Auckland