Name of case study
St Marks Apartments
Location
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand
Year
2018
Scale
Building/single site
Area / size
110m2
NbS employed
Green / living walls (modular soil based)
Type of NbS
Hybrid living/engineered interventions; Created or constructed living ecosystem
Initiator
Property developer John Harman
Funder
N/A
Budget
N/A
Design group
Patterson Associates (architect), Peddle Thorp, Natural Habitats (design and install)
- Increased temperatures
- Urban heat island effects
- Reduced air quality
- Biomass cover loss
- Energy security
- Human physical health and wellbeing
- Climate regulation
- Fixation of solar energy
- Habitat Provision
Summary of case study
Natural Habitats recently completed New Zealand’s tallest exterior green walls for the St Mark’s luxury apartments in Remuera, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. It also earned Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Homestar Innovation Point from the New Zealand Green Building Council. The project features three green walls with more than 5000 predominantly native plants selected for their textural contrast and seasonal colour changes.
Besides enhancing visual aesthetics for residents, visitors, and neighbours, these green walls offer ecological benefits. They support increased biodiversity, provide food for bees and birds, absorb atmospheric contaminants, and produce oxygen. Additionally, the walls help mitigate the urban heat island effect, and protect the building from temperature fluctuations and UV radiation. This project prioritises liveability and community integration, with the green walls playing a key role in creating a vibrant and environmentally friendly communal space.
References
- Greenroofs.com (2024). St Marks. Available online: https://www.greenroofs.com/projects/st-marks/. Date accessed 16 May, 2024.
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