New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards

Auckland Uni’s library builds minds, saves energy

18 October 2007

The University of Auckland is one of Auckland’s largest power users and when its Engineering Library and Student Centre was recently upgraded, effectively managing energy usage was identified as both a need and an opportunity.

The completed School of Engineering Library and Students Centre was announced a finalist in the 2007 New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards today.

The third New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards are the premier awards for New Zealand engineering professionals. The awards are presented in two major areas: Individual Awards, that recognise leadership, entrepreneurship, and our young engineers; and Category Awards, that recognise achievement in the various industry areas, together with a Supreme Award for the best of the Category winners.

The University of Auckland’s School of Engineering was designed by Kingston Reynolds Thom and Allardice (later SKM Ltd) in the mid-1960s to replace the original school located at Ardmore Aerodrome. In the next 40 years, the teaching requirements for engineering disciplines changed and so too did the demands for library spaces, quiet study areas and access to the computer-based library information system. Pressures on these resources were expected to increase as student numbers grow.

SKM (Sinclair Knight Mertz) was contracted to develop conceptual designs and construction. SKM describes the new Engineering Library and Student Centre as ‘a showcase of what can be achieved using innovation and state-of-the-art energy management features’. The rebuilt library wing of the School of Engineering has the following features: during winter, air is heated by gas rather than the convention method of using hot water boilers which then heat the air; slowly rotating heat recovery wheels transfer latent heating or cooling energy in the exhaust air systems; fresh air economiser damper control systems allow air conditioning systems to run on 100 per cent outside air – reducing chiller operating costs; daylight sensors adjust dim lighting when natural light is available; under-floor air conditioning using less energy and providing filtered air directly to work stations; a sophisticated fire protection system which avoids the need for sprinklers; the entire system is controlled by a computer-based building management system which constantly monitors and adjusts lighting and air conditioning.

David Elms, Convenor of the Category Awards judging panel said that the calibre of finalist projects highlighted the contribution that professional engineers make to New Zealand on a social, economic and environmental scale.

“These projects made the finalist cut because they each are outstanding examples of engineering innovation”, says Mr Elms. “This year’s finalists impressed the judges by demonstrating how their projects contributed to the national economy and the reputation of New Zealand engineering and impacted on quality of life in their communities”.

Winners of both individual and category awards will be announced at a black-tie gala dinner at TE PAPA, Wellington on Wednesday, 21 November 2007.

The New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards are hosted by a consortium of five partners and 10 contributing organisations. The partners are: Centre for Advanced Engineering (CAE); Association of Local Government Engineering New Zealand Incorporated (INGENIUM); Electricity Engineers Association of New Zealand (EEA); Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ); and the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand Inc (IPENZ).

Media enquiries contact:

Verona-Meiana Putaranui, NZEE Awards Media Co-ordinator

Email: media@ipenz.org.nz

Phone: +64 4 473 2028 or Cell: +64 21 479885