MAF Multi-purpose Building, NCBID, Wallaceville
Sheltered amongst three mature tōtara and a line of oak trees stands the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s new Multipurpose Building in Wallaceville, Upper Hutt. The building, which is also the campus centrepiece, is a place of reception and collaboration for the National Centre for Biosecurity and Infectious Disease and the larger scientific community.
This building has been awarded a five-star Green Star environment rating for office design for its simple but environmentally sound design and construction, a first for a government-developed building in New Zealand.
Features include high insulation levels and a mixed-mode natural and mechanical ventilation system. Stormwater will be discharged into a landscaped swale to increase the site's ecological biodiversity. The building, surrounded largely by trees, rises up on one side to collect as much light as possible.
This project is a much-needed facility for one of New Zealand's leading research centres.
