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St Mary’s Catholic Church in the Christchurch East parish has been awarded a Green Star by the New Zealand Green Building Council.
It received a “four-star” award which represents “New Zealand Best Practice”.
Foley Group Architecture building architect and parishioner Paul Foley said the quest for green star rating had been driven by the Catholic Diocese.
“It wants all new churches to be Green Star-rated, which is a great philosophy and one that required a steep learning curve to understand and implement the materials and procedures that would ensure the design, construction and now operation of the church is done on a more sustainable, efficient and productive way,” he said.
Green Star is a tool to support those involved in the property and construction sectors to design, construct and operate projects in a more sustainable, efficient and productive way.
To rate a building or fitout’s overall environmental impact, Green Star rating tools award points across nine categories: energy, water, materials, indoor environment quality (IEQ), transport, land use and ecology, management, emissions, and innovation.
The star rating ranges from zero, assessed, to six, world leader.
St Mary’s has a capacity for 175 people, which can be increased to 250 by opening doors to the adjoining community centre.
Its framework is an intricate steel structure with concrete tilt panel walls and acoustically designed plywood panels.
“Throughout we have had the full support of the parishioners but, now that the church is complete, it is up to the community to respond to the challenges regarding the procedures and operation of the church to ensure they are sustainable and efficient for the good of our environment,” said Foley.
“The local community has worked very hard on the rebuild of this beautiful church which will serve the community well for years to come”.
Source
- star.kiwi
- nzgbc.org.nz
- Image: star.kiwi
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