How this New Zealand local council office building became a “timber hero” – One of New Zealand’s leading architects Warren and Mahoney has designed the country’s largest mass timber building and it comes with promises to slash embodied carbon by 60 per cent. 

Simon Topliss, principal in W&H’s Australian arm and a timber expert, says the 10,000 square metre building at 90 Devonport Road at Tauranga is a “timber hero”. 

Development and investment company Willis Bond commissioned the building for lead tenant Tauranga City Council, which has signed a 15-year lease, a time frame that enables longer term outcomes than might be possible than in more commonly short term leases.

For the stakeholders the building demonstrates a shift in values around timber as a desirable architectural choice. 

It features rainwater harvesting, electric vehicle charging stations and end of trip facilities for active transport. And it’s targeting the highest 6 Green Star Design and As-Built NZv1.0 Design Review Rating.

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