WZ building shortlisted for award
WZ Building - Ngā Wai Hono, has been shortlisted for the 2019 New Zealand Architecture Awards. The City Campus building, home to the School of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, was officially opened in August last year.
Designed by Jasmax, the $120 million project represents a new way of teaching and learning at AUT. The building itself is a teaching tool, where students are able to see the theory they are learning replicated in the ‘living lab’ of the air conditioning systems, treatment of waste and the harnessing of energy.
Shortlisted for the Education section of the awards, WZ joins 44 other finalists across 11 categories. The winners will be announced on Saturday 9 November.
About WZ
At 18,000m² over 12 storeys, Ngā Wai Hono was built with a strong focus on sustainability. Rain water is collected from the roofs for use in labs and solar fins outside ensure there is enough light while excluding heat from the afternoon sun. The lighting systems have occupancy sensors so rooms and spaces are only lit when necessary. There is also a ground source heat pump which extracts heat from the ground to warm an area or directs heat into the ground to cool a space.
The building's te reo name - Ngā Wai Hono, roughly translates to "the confluence", the idea of the merging and welling-up of water sources - akin to the comingling and flow of knowledge that students will share with the world. The name also references the historic wells that were discovered during WZ's construction phase.
For more information on the 2019 New Zealand Architecture Awards, visit the finalist page.
WZ foyer