Building cities and communities for future generations
Arrow International welcomes Jason F McLennan, author of the Living Building Challenge to Auckland
Kiwi construction company Arrow International is delighted to welcome Jason F McLennan, author, designer and chief
advocate for the Living Building Challenge to New Zealand.
McLennan has been called the “Steve Jobs” of the green building movement – innovative, controversial and prescient.
Jason is the CEO of the Cascadia Green Building Council and former Principal at BNIM Architects. He was one of the
founders of the green design movement in the USA where he worked on many of the leading high-performance projects in the
country.
“The Living Building Challenge is the most stringent and demanding building philosophy and standard in the world”, says
Jerome Partington, Sustainability Manager for architecture and interior design company Jasmax. “It’s much, much more
than building green. It describes the end game; the ultimate vision of where we want to get to. Jason is an agent for
transformational change; he’s written the programme and is sharing it with us – we just need to act on it.”
Jason’s visit has been instigated by Jasmax and is being co-hosted by Arrow International, Auckland Council, Unitec and
Waterfront Auckland. He will be in Auckland from the 3rd to 5th September where he will be presenting a number of
workshops and seminars and leading a design churatte on the possible future of Auckland’s waterfront.
“The Living Building Challenge may be seen as novel and innovative in the building industry today, but in 25 years time
it hopefully will be the norm”, says Julian Huggins, Arrow’s Auckland Manager. “Though the Living Building Challenge is
modelled on the efficiency and beauty of a flower, this isn’t some airy fairy aspiration; this is the future. It’s where
innovative developers, planners and construction companies should be looking. Jason is inspirational. Once you’ve heard
about the Living Building Challenge you understand the possibilities and it makes it harder to accept older and
increasingly outdated practices that don’t make the best use of materials or the world around them.”
Arrow International is delighted to be working with Jasmax to host Jason and support the Living Building movement in New
Zealand.
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