Installation: Christchurch Civic Centre
Specifier: Athfields Christchurch
Installer: Dominion Flooring
Product: Equilibrium
The Christchurch Civic Building has received a 6 Green Star - Office Design rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC), with the highest score ever achieved by a New Zealand office building.
The building is designed to save $1.3 million in energy annually through its innovative Tri-Generation system, and 85 per cent of its hot water will be heated by solar power.
The Civic Building is a joint venture between Ngai Tahu Property Ltd and the Christchurch City Council. It is a redevelopment and extension of the old Post Office building in Worcester Street, built in the 1970s.
It is New Zealand's most innovative building, achieving four out of a possible five points for innovation within the Green Star system.
And the flooring – well Interface and sustainability go hand in hand. Add to this the need to ensure maximum Greenstar points (carpet tile and adhesive) with no hiccups; carpet choice was very easy – It had to be Interface. The key issue was getting the colours right. In this case Athfields customized the Equilibrium range to meet the client's brief. End result? Perfect! What a great old building and what a fantastic floor.
Then on the day of the opening, the September 2010 earthquake arrives. Massive ceiling heights meant there was a lot of gib board cracked and broken. Now carpet tiles' real benefit came to play. Pick up a carpet tile, shake it, clean it and place it back in place – oh so easy. No insurance issues with flooring, no hassle and the building was back in ship-shape very quickly.