Waikato Partnership Proves A Winner In Prestigious Property Industry Awards

Two Waikato properties shared four awards at last week’s 2022 Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards – including two Best in Category accolades.

Local partnership proved successful for Profile Group, who worked with longstanding commercial construction leaders, Foster Construction, to come away with two Excellence and Best in Category Awards. The Profile Group’s Hautapu HQ in Cambridge won the Resene Green Building Award and CBRE Industrial Property Award. The project also received a Merit in the RCP Commercial Office Property Award category.

The judges noted the commitment to deliver on the pledge to sustainability was evident from the design stage through to construction and ongoing operation. The project team worked together to influence every part of the supply chain and think differently for the benefit of the environment, community, employees, and future economic benefit.

“Our new facility incorporates what we’ve learned over the last 25 years to ensure our business can grow significantly and comfortably” says Craig Vincent, CEO Profile Group Ltd. “It’s important to us that it’s built in an environmentally friendly way and will be operationally efficient. We’re also creating a truly inviting place for people to work in. Fosters understood our expectations and they delivered.”

Foster Construction was also able to support another winning client in the Industrial Property Awards with IAG Repairhub in Hamilton being awarded Merit.

These awards have a broad and robust judging criteria that make them truly unique, with nominees assessed for how the development tracked against financial estimates, owner and user satisfaction, as well as its design, construction and sustainability.

There were 83 entries for 69 developments vying for the top accolade, culminating in New Zealand’s largest gala dinner with more than 1,500 guests hosted at Auckland’s Spark Arena. To see four awards come back to the Waikato is a testament to the scope of business and quality of architecture that is coming out of the region.

Foster Construction Group CEO Leonard Gardner is confident in the construction leadership that is coming out of the Waikato region. “Purposeful business, community relationships and sustainable practices are a core driver behind what we do at Fosters. We’re proud to be able to work with clients such as APL to create the sustainable facilities that will support their operations for many years to come and enable them to provide significant benefit to our wider community.”

Property Council chief executive, Leonie Freeman, acknowledged all the nominees' tenacity, with many of the projects being delivered throughout a period of lockdowns and economic uncertainty.

“These awards showcase what can happen when you marry courageous vision with the can-do attitude of passionate people. The result is not only remarkable buildings but properties, precincts and cities that have a positive impact on our communities.”

NOTES TO THE EDITOR

Foster Construction

Foster Construction Group has a commitment to environmental sustainability, proven through our operations, being the only construction company to hold both of Toitū’s top sustainability certifications, CarboNZero and Enviromark Diamond.

Our commitments place us as frontrunners in our industry, well ahead of the national 2050 net carbon zero goals set by government, and the international science-based target of maintaining 1.5°C global warming.

Profile Group Hautapu HQ:

Owner: Appropriate Holdings Ltd

Developer/Construction: Foster Construction

Architect: Jasmax

Structural Engineer: BCD

Service Engineer & Greenstar Accredited

Professional: eCubed Building Workshop

Quantity Surveyor/Project Manager: Fosters

Fire Engineer: On Fire

Additional award winners

The evening’s Supreme Award went to HomeGround. The complex designed to give homeless people a hand up, won hands down. Owned and developed by Auckland City Mission, the 12,000sqm, 11-storey multi-purpose development was also named the Best in Category and awarded Excellence in the Kāinga Ora Community and Affordable Housing category, and Excellence in the Resene Green Building Property category.

The judges applauded how HomeGround delivered on the needs of multi-purpose users, and they said that while it was hard to integrate mixed-use, the result was exceptional.

It is New Zealand’s first model of single-site supportive housing for people needing housing, food and low-cost medical services. Stevens Lawson Architects was commissioned to design a building that treats users with respect and dignity and welcomes all Aucklanders.

Property Council chief executive Leonie Freeman described it as “a genuine example of how a building can be not only a roof over our head, but a safe haven for those in need”.

Wellington’s shared space, The Generator, took two Excellence and Best in Category Awards – in the RCP Commercial Office Property Award and the Naylor Love Heritage and Adaptive Reuses Award – for the redevelopment of 30 Waring-Taylor, an iconic building dating back to 1927. It was also given an Excellence in the Resene Green Building Property Award.

Redeveloping a single dwelling property into a five-storey building with 32 apartments culminated in Modal in Mt Albert, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, winning Excellence and Best in Category in the Templeton Multi Unit Residential Property Award category.

Christchurch’s new Convention Centre, Te Pae – boasting 28,000sqm of floor area, a 1,400-seat tiered auditorium, a 2,800sqm exhibition space, a 1,800-seat banquet space as well as state-of-the-art audio visual, ICT, and rigging provisions – was the Warren and Mahoney Civic, Health & Arts Property Award winner.

The Holmes Tourism and Leisure Property Award went to Cordis Hotel’s new 17-storey landmark Pinnacle Tower. Mixed-use commercial building The Rise in Titirangi Village, Auckland, won the Yardi Retail Property Award.

Other winning projects included Christchurch’s Te Aratai College (formerly known as Linwood College), that won the Greenstone Group Education Property Award.

About Property Council New Zealand

Property Council is the leading advocate for Aotearoa’s largest industry – property.

Property Council New Zealand is the one organisation that collectively champions property, bringing together members from all corners of the property eco system to advocate for reduced red tape that enables development.

Property is New Zealand’s largest industry, making up 15% of economic activity. As a sector, we employ 9% of New Zealand’s workforce and contribute over $41.2 billion to GDP.

A not-for-profit organisation, the Property Council connects over 10,000 property professionals, championing the interests of over 500 member companies.

Our membership is broad and includes some of the largest commercial and residential property owners and developers in New Zealand. The property industry comes together at our local, national and online events, which offer professional development, exceptional networking and access to industry-leading research.

Our members shape the cities and spaces where New Zealanders live, work, play and shop.

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