Green buildings on campus

The Jack Erskine Building, home to Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, is a long-standing example of sustainable building design at UC. It brings together staff and postgraduate research areas with teaching spaces for undergraduate students around a daylit central atrium.

The building was designed to use passive design principles that improve comfort and reduce energy demand. Its 2023 New Zealand Architecture Award for Enduring Architecture recognized its architectural innovation and functionality. The building is an early example of modern passive building design, notable for:

• Its displacement, mixed mode and natural ventilation strategies for teaching spaces and academic offices.
• Extensive external solar shading and building integrated natural ventilation elements which utilise thermal mass for pre-conditioning.
• Glazing has been positioned to maximise daylight penetration for natural lighting, but to also provide connection to the external environment and increased visual amenity.

Links/visuals:

• Erskine Building at Architectus
• Erskine Building at Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects
• Erskine Building atrium design sketch

The John Britten Building was the first education building in Aotearoa New Zealand to receive a 5-Star Green Star rating. It set a high standard for flexible, energy-efficient learning and research facilities at UC.

• Phase-change materials help manage internal temperatures by absorbing and releasing heat.
• Mixed-mode ventilation combines natural ventilation with mechanical systems when needed.
• High-performance glazing, external shading and skylights improve daylight while limiting heat gain.
• Rainwater is collected for toilet flushing and irrigation.
• Low-VOC recycled and renewable materials support healthier indoor spaces and lower environmental impact.

The CETF refurbishment renewed UC’s engineering precinct while retaining and upgrading much of its existing structure. The project created modern teaching, research and social spaces while avoiding the carbon impact of demolition and new construction.

Existing buildings were stripped back to their foundations and steel frames, then upgraded with new roofs, windows, heating systems, lighting and finishes. Retaining the original structure avoided unnecessary demolition waste and reduced new embodied carbon.

• Existing foundations, steel frames and lecture theatres were retained and reused.
• Improved insulation, glazing and building systems lifted thermal performance and indoor comfort.
• External shading and an automated façade support natural ventilation and reduce heat gain.
• New laboratories, workshops, lecture theatres and social spaces support contemporary engineering education.
• Low-VOC materials, recycled finishes, responsibly sourced timber and LED lighting were used throughout the refurbishment.
• Rainwater from the retained copper roofs is collected and treated for reuse.
• A new social hub provides flexible learning and gathering spaces, with natural light and ventilation.

Links/visuals:

• CETF lighting case study

The Beatrice Tinsley Building is part of UC’s science precinct and provides teaching and research space for the Rutherford Regional Science and Innovation Centre (RRSIC). The building demonstrates how engineered timber can support resilient, lower-carbon construction at scale.

The project reused the foundations and basement of the former Von Haast Building, reducing demolition waste and the need for new materials. Its timber structure was designed to perform well in earthquakes while providing adaptable spaces for future use. Key sustainability features:

• The building uses engineered timber, including cross-laminated timber and timber structural elements made from locally sourced wood.
• The timber structure stores approximately 100 tonnes of carbon.
• A low-damage seismic system uses steel tensioning to help the building return to position after a major earthquake.
• Reusing the existing foundations and basement reduced construction waste and embodied carbon.
• The building has been designed for adaptability, disassembly and reuse of components at the end of their life.

Links/visuals:

• Beatrice Tinsley Building at Jasmax

Haere-roa is UC’s student hub on the banks of the Ōtākaro Avon River. It brings together student support, advocacy, clubs, hospitality, events and social spaces in a welcoming campus destination.

The name Haere-roa refers to the long stream or long wanderer, recognising the relationship between the building, the Ōtākaro Avon River and the UC community. The building replaced the former Student Union building damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes. Key sustainability features:

• Ground-source heat pumps provide efficient heating and cooling.
• Renewable electricity supports the building’s energy needs.
• Low-VOC finishes, recycled products and durable materials support healthier and more sustainable interiors.
• Extensive use of timber and innovative cladding contribute to the building’s distinctive design.
• Carpet tiles are made from recycled material in no recognisable pattern, allowing partial replacements and reducing waste during maintenance.
• More than 5,700 native plants were established around Haere-roa and the nearby garden area, supporting biodiversity and the ecological health of the Ōtākaro Avon River corridor.

Links/visuals:

• Haere-roa at Architectus

This system has been operational since March 2025, providing heating and cooling for five buildings which have been designed or retrofit for lower grade heating via Ground Source Heat Pump’s. The Science and Innovation Precinct GSHPs are a key step in delivering UC’s transition to low carbon energy sources as the project is expected to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions by approximately 2,000 tonnes annually.

Adopting class leading equipment, UC has installed three new 1,200kW water-cooled heat pumps connected via an indirect ground water system which enables simultaneous heating and cooling with heat recovery. Each heat pump is configured such they can reject or absorb heat from the ground or from the building heating and cooling circuits (moving energy between buildings, rather than rejecting it).

In heating mode, the system extracts heat from either the campus chilled water system or, when there is insufficient cooling demand, uses heat exchangers to extract heat from the ground water bores. When the system is running in cooling mode the heat generated is used to meet the science precinct heating demand, with any excess heat being rejected back into the ground.

System efficiency is further enhanced with an outdoor air temperature compensation logic which varies the heating water temperature from 55 degrees down to 45 degrees to allow operation at a more energy efficient operating point. This is a simple, well-established strategy for efficient heating network operation (intended to limit heat losses) which when applied to heat pump technologies (to optimize for refrigerant and compressor type) can have a transformative effect on overall system energy consumption.

Aside from exceptional energy efficiency, the new GSHP’s operate on a future ready R-1234ze refrigerant, a low Global Warming Potential (GWP) hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) with a GWP of less than 1, and is non-toxic, non-flammable, and ozone-friendly.

The Science and Innovation precinct GSHP system delivers reliable, low-carbon heating and cooling.