Forestry Minister Jim Anderton today announced a new programme that will help put New Zealand at the forefront of building truly sustainable buildings.
Mr Anderton said the Government has taken another key step in its promotion of a carbon-neutral public service. Within a year, new government-funded building projects for buildings up to four floors (including the ground floor) will have to commission designs and at least consider options for using wood or wood-based products as the main structural materials.
He said more than 90 percent of New Zealanders’ homes were built in wood.
"But very few commercial buildings are built in wood, despite research showing wood is cheaper, produces less greenhouse gas emissions and - with the right design and technology - can meet all other sustainability measures, such as energy efficiency.
"With the latest technology in timber engineering and global concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, it is time for wood to play a much important role as an efficient building material. Wood locks up carbon dioxide, uses much less energy to produce than alternatives, and by-products can be used to produce renewable energy."
Encouraging the use of wood also helped support a growing forest industry, Mr Anderton said, which in turn helped New Zealand address climate change and sustainable land management.
He said there would be three new initiatives to encourage far greater use of wood in non-traditional applications:
• establishing two key professorships in wood design at our engineering schools in Canterbury and Auckland;
• co- funding the development of web-based technical information for engineers and architects; and
• requiring that where government-funded buildings of up to four floors are proposed, consideration is given to a build-in-wood design along with other proposals.
"I am delighted with the announcement today by the University of Auckland that the second professorship position in wood design has been filled by Canadian expert, Dr. Pierre Quenneville."
He joins Professor Andy Buchanan, who has been the Professor of Wood Design in Canterbury for some months.
Mr Anderton said there was already world-leading research underway in Canterbury Universi
