Sustainability award first for Te Whatu Ora hospital development
31 January 2023
The New East Wing Building (NEWB) at Taranaki Base Hospital has been awarded a 5 Green Star Design and As-Built NZ v1.0 certified Design Review rating by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) – the first public health building to receive the accolade.
NEWB, a 20,000m², six-storey building which will house acute services including the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Maternity, Primary Birthing, Neonatal, Radiology, Laboratories and features a roof-top helipad, is currently under construction as part of Project Maunga, the redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital in New Plymouth.
A Green Star rating signifies a commitment to best practice design that creates healthy, comfortable, sustainable spaces – not just through direct impacts such as materials or water use, but an overall holistic approach that contributes to a better environmental future, says Gillian Campbell, Te Whatu Ora Interim Hospital Lead, Taranaki.
“The Project Maunga team are proud to be leading the way for health facilities with this certification.
“Sustainability has been a key consideration for other elements of Project Maunga, with the newly completed Renal Building targeting Net Zero Energy certification and the upcoming integrated cancer care centre also aiming for a 5 star Green Star rating.
“These facilities will make a considerable difference to the delivery of 21st century models of healthcare to the Taranaki community.”
A Green Star certification rating shows a building meets best practice sustainable design and build benchmarks via a transparent, robust and independent assessment. Involvement in the scheme is voluntary, demonstrating a sense of social responsibility, environmental stewardship and a desire to embrace an innovative approach to the construction of Aotearoa New Zealand’s infrastructure.
In order to receive a Green Star rating, the NEWB design was assessed against 28 different criteria, which encompass air quality, daylight, thermal comfort, acoustics, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, resilience to climate change and earthquakes, transportation, water use, building materials, waste reduction measures, and project management. The result was a high score, leading to the 5 Green Star rating demonstrating New Zealand Excellence. The highest rating possible is 6, indicating world leadership in construction sustainability.
NZGBC Chief Executive Andrew Eagles said: “To be the first public health facility awarded a 5 Green Star rating is a tremendous achievement, and provides a line in the sand for all health projects to target and learn from going forward. The project team has already helped develop guidance and provide key knowledge which will help future projects across the health sector.
“All large public health buildings are now being built to 5 Green star standards and Taranaki has led the way.”
Once NEWB has been completed (early 2025), it will be assessed again against the Green Star standard for construction with a target of achieving 5 star certification.
Last updated: Tuesday, January 31, 2023