NZI Centre, Auckland NZ

Affectionately dubbed the 'greenhouse', the stunning new award-winning NZI Centre on the corner of Fanshawe and Pakenham Streets in Auckland's Viaduct is not just a pretty facade. Behind its double and triple glazed exterior is a highly innovative building incorporating a multitude of sustainable construction features that have earned it the first 5 Green Star commercial building rating in New Zealand.

Newcrest Developments appointed Jasmax Architects to fulfil the client's objective to construct a truly environmentally sustainable workspace for a staff of around 600. The structure's five facades each had their own specific solar/thermal conditions to address. In addition to the high performance unitised glazing system, Newcrest contracted New Zealand Window Shades to produce a range of sophisticated solar Blinds for the northern twin skin facade and building's west and southern facades.

The building's northern facade features Horiso® External Venetians. These robust Blinds are a particularly effective solution for solar control, reflecting light and heat before it can penetrate the building's interior, maximising the energy savings. For the building's west and southern facades, Silverscreen Sunscreen Rollershades were selected for their proven thermal efficiency and certified environmentally sustainable qualities. Silverscreen features a thin layer of aluminium applied by a vacuum process which maintains an open weave for clear visibility whilst reflecting 75% of the sun's radiation.

All the Blinds installed in the state-of-the-art NZI Centre operate on a fully automated sensor controlled system with preset stops, sun tracking and programmed scheduling to optimise the comfort of the building's inhabitants all year round.