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With greater public awareness of environmental sustainability, comes an increased call for industry to adapt stringent eco-conscious regulations.

For the companies involved in the NZI Centre, the requirement from IAG to incorporate a number of up-to-the-minute environmentally sustainable design principles hitherto untried in New Zealand necessitated a steep learning curve, says Garry Scarborough, general manager of Scarbro Construction.

"From the outset, the building had to adhere to the requirements of achieving a 5-Star Green Star rating. This meant everyone had very strict best-practice performance guidelines to follow."

This included waste minimisation, which meant keeping constant track of the waste generated and recycled on site, says Scarborough.

"With such a strong focus, the philosophy on the project was one of working together to get the building completed within the required timeframe 20 months and also to a high level of finish, according to the client's requirements."

As the main contractor on the project, a role Scarbro Construction is well used to, the company was responsible for overseeing not only the construction, but also the interior fit-out.

"The design has produced a building that is very open and transparent. This includes using structural elements within the building as architectural features requiring them to match the level of interior finish of the more traditional surfaces," says Scarborough.

Managing access to the busy city site was also challenging and required a high level of co-operation between Scarbro and the subcontractors. Deliveries had to be timed to coincide with the completion of each floor to ensure there was minimal disruption to the surrounding businesses.

"Constant co-ordination between all the parties was needed to maintain a smooth day-to-day operation," says Scarborough. "A collaborative approach was the only way to integrate the fit-out process during the main building construction, and to ensure the project was handed over to IAG on the agreed date for completion which we achieved."

Not only did the building fulfil its environmental sustainability requirements, earning it a 5-Star Green Star rating in office design, it was recently awarded a 5-Star Green Star rating in office interior, falling just shy of a 6-Star rating.

To contact Scarbro Construction, PO Box 11110, Ellerslie, Auckland 1051, phone (09) 580 2554, fax (09) 579 4271. Email: scl.admin@scarbro.co.nz. Website: www.scarbro.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas