Britomart East, Britomart Precinct, Auckland

Britomart East Buildings is located in the heart of Auckland’s Britomart Precinct. The project is a premium office development located directly above Britomart Train Station and comprising two 15,000 m² high grade office buildings with ground floor retail and a further three levels of offices above. At the time, this development has the largest office floor plate in Auckland.  Both office buildings have a Green Star NZ Office Design 5 Star Rating.

Britomart East includes enhanced public spaces with a central atrium complete with an ETFE roof solution providing a covered retail experience on either side of Te Ara Tahuhu Lane, linking Britomart East with the CPO in the West and Britomart car park in the East.

Six of the eight main structural grids are directly supported from the train station structure.  As noise and vibration consultant, NDY undertook extensive precinct testing of rolling stock immediately above and at significant distances from the station and tunnel throat. The vibration study was utilised as the basis for the vibration isolation of the building via the introduction of elastomeric bearings between the ground floor support beams and the supporting column heads and other bearing points.

The commercial space is built around two isolated train station exhaust discharges. Exhaust and other noxious discharges were also carefully located so as not to contaminate the station’s outside air intakes.

The station escape, right of access, security and continuity of operation of the East Buildings pedestrian entry/exit were not compromised by the development.

The office buildings are designed with a VAV air conditioning system incorporating high efficiency chillers and boilers, combined with a high-performance facade to provide energy efficient operation and maximise occupant comfort. Intelligent cooling controls maximise the free cooling provided by outdoor air to reduce chiller load.

Rainwater harvesting incorporated into East 2 Building is used for toilet flushing and garden wall irrigation, reducing both demand for mains water and storm water runoff. Green walls were installed in the atrium of the Britomart East Complex, and at three storeys high, they are New Zealand’s largest living walls.

Modelling was carried out throughout the design process to optimise the HVAC design through assessment of energy consumption and thermal comfort levels, and to advise the design team regarding facade, daylight and solar gain.

All three buildings were awarded 5 Star Green Star Office Design V1.