The Living Pā

Designed by Tennent Brown Architects

Designed by Tennent Brown Architects and built by LT McGuinness, the new, highly sustainable Ngā Mokopuna's wooden interior features art by David Hakaraia, an award-winning Māori designer and the deputy head of design at the university.

Ngā Mokopuna is part of the university marae and complements the ornately carved meeting house, Te Tumu Herenga Waka.  

Both houses are steeped in mātauranga and sustainable practices.

The new building will undertake the Living Building Challenge – a performance-based standard that takes a year to achieve. 

There are seven performance standards: place, water, energy, health and happiness, materials, equity, and beauty.

As a living building, Ngā Mokopuna will be one of the world’s most sustainable civic constructions, with around only 30 buildings meeting these extremely high standards. 

It has a cutting-edge rainwater collection system and is net zero in energy, with photovoltaic panels on the roof generating 105 percent of the building’s electricity needs – so it even gives back to the grid.

Plus, the living pa will also provide onsite energy storage for resilience.The new building will supply 100 percent of its water needs by captured rain, closed-loop water systems and/or by recycling used water. 

Stormwater and water discharge, including grey and black water, will be treated and managed on site. 

The plants on the side of the building are part of the water filtration system.

Water consumption will be reduced with vacuum flush toilets and water-saving fixtures and timers, with treated wastewater used to flush the adjacent building’s toilets. 

Functionally the building is ambitious. 

Ngā Mokopuna largely uses passive design to get the building working as efficiently as possible, through energy efficient heating and ventilation systems.

Ninety five percent of construction materials from waste – over 1.12mkg (1120 tonnes) – was diverted from landfill, while embodied energy of materials in the construction process was reduced, to sequester more CO2 than the building’s carbon footprint.

In fact, being constructed from engineered timber, the building is a carbon store, sequestering more carbon than it produces in its lifetime. 

The building is ductile and has high seismic properties, and all timber is locally sourced and locally manufactured.

The 2300m² building is 90 percent compliant with Red List – which prohibits the use of 22 worst-in-class toxic chemicals that are pervasive in the built environment (e.g. chlorofluorocarbons, formaldehyde, phalates, chromium 6, PVC). 

This required the design and construction team to look at every single material that is used, verifying that a product’s chemical makeup is not harmful to humans or the environment.

Deputy vice-chancellor (Māori), Rawinia Higgins (Tūhoe) says Ngā Mokopuna has brought a taste of what’s possible in the city if there is vision, care and a commitment to Te Tiriti.

“As the first living building in the capital, Ngā Mokopuna is a vision of sustainability, infused with indigenous wisdom – a place for people to get inspired and be part of a thriving community – it sets an example to the nation about what can be achieved with aroha, wisdom and care," she says.

“It’s taken many hands and minds to get it to this point, and we’re deeply grateful to everyone who has poured their heart and soul into it – from the architects, tradespeople, artists, gardeners, funders, and supporters.”

Story by: Trendsideas