Kiwibank Opens New Corporate Premises In Auckland

Kiwibank with local iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, has officially opened its new Auckland corporate premises, Te Kupenga at 155 Fanshawe Street, in the Wynyard Quarter this morning (Friday 9 October).

Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and 2020 New Zealander of the Year Jennifer Ward-Lealand as well as representatives from Genesis Energy, Southern Cross,TradeMe and Regus which are other tenants of the building, were also special guests at the dawn blessing.

Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich said the name Te Kupenga, which means the fishing net, pays homage to the historical significance of the whenua, where the new building sits, as a bustling fishing hub and place of trade.

“All these years later, and this place is still where people come together to innovate, conduct business and exchange ideas.

“Using a fishing net is a craft that takes time to learn, and requires collaboration, strategic thinking, maintenance, and patience, not dissimilar to Kiwibank’s own journey to become a more sustainable bank.

“The idea of giving a person a fishing net so they can catch kai moana is aligned to Kiwibank’s purpose of enabling more Kiwi to be better off, as well as being mindful of our own footprint and leaving something for the future,” he said.

“Our move here also underlines our commitment to grow our presence in New Zealand’s biggest city where we see plenty of opportunity to expand our base of small and medium size business customers.”

The six-Green Star rated building will help the largest New Zealand-owned bank meet its sustainability targets particularly around energy usage which is a reduction of 30% from 2018 by 2022. In keeping with Auckland’s move towards better public transport, including more cycling and scooting, there will be EV charging points for tenants and visitors, over 100 cycle parks, as well as plenty of changing facilities and showers.

Underlining Kiwibank’s commitment to a more sustainable Aotearoa we have also created this country’s first commercial building signs made from over 10,000 recycled single use plastic bottles. Low wattage LEDs will provide energy efficient illumination and at the end of their life, the signs’ components can be recycled.

Kiwibank has also committed to a sustainable fit-out of the building by reusing materials from previous offices and what couldn’t be reused has been donated, upcycled or recycled. New Zealand suppliers have been used where possible.

Other sustainability features of the building include:

• Highly efficient energy efficient HVAC and air ventilation systems through features like space CO2 sensors control outdoor air ventilation rates and fan coil units
• The car park ventilation fans are equipped with CO sensors ramping up and down and only turning on when required
• Rainwater harvesting
• Low flow water fittings significantly reduce the water demand
• Energy efficient LED lighting
• Lower environmental impact concrete
• Lower environment impact steel
• Decontamination of site
• High-performance double-glazed curtain wall systems also reduces both heating and cooling demand
• Low VOC flooring, applied coatings, adhesives and sealants and ceiling tiles
• Good levels of daylight in office areas
• Low environmental impact applied coatings
• Responsibly sourced timber
• No ozone depleting refrigerants used
• Minimisation of peak stormwater flows and overall water flows to sewers
• Reduced light pollution to night sky

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