Case Studies

Te Whare Nui o Tuteata Rotorua.

In collaboration with Irving Smith Architects, RTA Studio was commissioned to reimagine the Rotorua headquarters of Scion, a Crown Research Institute that specialises in technology development for the forestry industry.

Background

In collaboration with Irving Smith Architects, RTA Studio was commissioned to reimagine the Rotorua headquarters of Scion, a Crown Research Institute that specialises in technology development for the forestry industry. The workforce was previously placed in smaller buildings around the campus that’s located in Whakarewarewa Forest Park. The new ‘Te Whare Nui o Tuteata’ building has created a central arrival point that strengthens the public interface for Scion. Its named after Tuteata, an ancestor of the three local subtribes, “Te Whare Nui o Tuteata” means the great house of Tuteata. Tuteata is the ancestor of the three hap? who are the tangata whenua here: Ng?ti Hurungaterangi, Ng?ti Taeotu and Ng?ti Te Kahu. The name was gifted to Scion by those three hap? to acknowledge Tuteata and the connection to the land, Te Mingi. Scion and the hap? are building a strong partnership together.

Challenge

The Scion Innovation Hub achieves embodied carbon zero at time of completion; assessed using the Ftool system. Wanting to measure all of life and end of life carbon, the new building was assessed to achieve the 2030 target set by the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) of 500kg of carbon/ msq. By using engineered products made from sustainably grown pine and putting more thought into the operational characteristics of a building, the building significantly contributes to New Zealand’s carbon-zero future to leave a much lighter footprint on the land.

Some ways ‘Te Whare Nui o Tuteata’ is doing this; The building contains 454 m3 of structural wood, storing approximately 418 tonnes of CO2-e for the life of the building. This storage is equivalent to the emissions from 160 people taking return flights from Auckland to London. New Zealand radiata pine forests can regrow this amount of wood in only 35 minutes. (Note, this building was not designed as carbon-negative, but choosing wood instead of alternative construction materials has value in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption during the product manufacturing and building construction stages.) The building is sustainably designed with typical office heating and cooling needs significantly reduced. Developed for the local climate, a motorised double-skin façade provides heat recovery in winter with the coloured glazing panels and internal building cavity regulating thermal gains in summer. Other energy saving features include natural ventilation, solar shading and LED lighting – all contributing to reducing plant and ongoing running cost gains in summer.

RTA Studio and Irving Smith Architects’ Scion was awarded ‘The Most Beautiful, Innovative and Iconic Building’ award at the Dubai International Best Practices Award for Sustainable Development in Dubai. The Awards, which ran alongside the World Governments Summit held in Dubai, featured five categories, and attracted almost 3000 entries from around the world. ‘Te Whare Nui o Tuteata’ has also won a range of 17 other Architecture awards.

Solution

We supplied the Billi Quadra 4100 and the Billi Quadra Compact, offering staff and visitors seamless supply throughout the building of chilled, instant boiling and filtered drinking water. Before the New ‘Te Whare Nui o Tuteata’ building was commissioned, Scion were a supporter of our Billi products and had a few installed in the pre-existing building. At Merquip we are proud to say that we are doing our part by providing sustainable, state-of-the-art filtered drinking systems to ensure that the new ‘Te Whare Nui o Tuteata’ building can achieve the 2030 target set by the RIBA. Our extensive knowledge, passion and integrity mean our friendly team can provide you with qualified advice from model specification right through to maintenance options.

Architect: Irving Smith Architects & RTA Studio

Structural engineering: Dunning Thornton

Engineered wood fabrication: Timberlab / Xlam

Construction: Watts & Hughes

Project managers: RDT Pacific

Exhibition design and installation: The Gibson Group

Product: Billi dispensers