Te Mirumiru Wins International Green Building Award

Te Mirumiru, a bilingual childcare center in New Zealand has just been chosen as the winner of the inaugural World Green Building Council Asia Pacific Regional Network Leadership Awards in Green Building. Beating stiff competition from 57 high profile projects around the Asia Pacific region, project architect Phil Smith of Collingridge and Smith Architects (UK) said it was a huge accolade both for his practice and for NZ. The result is a building that is 70 percent more energy efficient than a similar code-compliant building.The building achieved a 6 Green Star rating from the NZGBC – one of only three buildings in NZ to attain this, and the only Green Star-rated early childhood center in the whole of Australasia.The environmental features include passive solar heating, a super-insulated earth roof, rainwater storage, and a solar hot water underfloor system. All spaces are naturally daylit and need no additional electrical lighting during the day.