The Jasmax-designed combined production plant and office facility, which has a floor area the size of approximately six rugby fields (49,000m²), comprises two transparent ends on a 110m-wide x 430m-long shell of folded steel.

“The facility promotes advances in sustainability and efficiencies in the production of both aluminium joinery and double-glazing units,” says project lead architect Nick Moyes. “It’s achieving a 40 per cent reduction in energy use and CO₂ emissions, thanks to its energy-efficient façade design, warm roof, low-carbon and green-certified material selections, and low-impact amenities, such as LED factory lighting.”

Hydraulic underfloor heating keeps employees on the factory floor warm throughout the year, and skylights and vast areas of glazing provide natural daylight and exterior views as well as a connection to the outdoors — something often missing from manufacturing facilities.

Moyes says that landscaping has been designed to address the significant stormwater-management challenge resulting from the building’s sizable roof, diverting three million litres of stormwater run-off per year to a new pond and wetland with riparian planting that covers 20 per cent of the site, improving biodiversity and providing a source of water for sanitary and emergency use.

The project represents the first stage in developing a major industrial manufacturing campus in Hautapu — part of a long-term master plan, also designed by Jasmax.