New Zealand’s First “Living Building” Chooses Abodo Products

Te Wharehou o Tūhoe is a $15 million headquarters for Tūhoe, at Taneatua, near Whakatane. It will strive to meet the stringent measures of the Living Building Challenge (LBC) – a green building code with wider ecological and social aims.

The project has exacting material requirements:

-All wood must be locally sourced and from Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC®) forests “FSC® Pure”

-Preservatives and coatings used should be low toxicity and low VOC.

-Claddings and exterior materials should be extremely durable and low maintenance.

So it should come as no surprise that Te Wharehou o Tūhoe will utilise some of Abodo’s “greenest” and highest performance products.

Sand+ “Ivan” Cladding will be used to clad the exterior, along with some custom profiled Sand+ Cladding designed by Architects Jasmax. A heavy duty Sand+ “Gideon” Decking will feature on the exterior terrace. Abodo will also supply Elements Structural timber for the project’s structure.

Wood fibre used for the project is sourced by Abodo from FSC® certified forests in the Kaingaroa region, most of which are on or close to Ngai Tuhoe land.

“Ngai Tuhoe and Jasmax have taken a inspirational step into the future of construction. We are proud to be selected as a partner for the journey” commented Daniel Gudsell, Abodo’s Marketing Director.

Construction for Te Wharehou o Tūhoe has already commenced, with a completion date scheduled for late 2013.