A new design concept for Foodstuffs (South Island) Ltd with a focus on sustainability won dual awards for its builder, Robinson Construction Ltd.
The Pak’nSave Marlborough project, the first of its kind, won Robinson Construction the Retail Category and the Silver Award in the 2014 New Zealand Commercial Project Awards.
The effort to be green has seen the new-look Pak’nSave adopt many energy saving and eco-friendly concepts. This included the use of solar panels for the car park lighting, systems to reuse rainwater for irrigation, and using as much natural lighting as possible through the walls and roof.
The heat recovery of the non-CFC refrigeration system is also used to provide hot water to the market, and heating throughout the building is managed through high insulation standards and double glazing.
“Rather than having what previously was the ‘big yellow box’, they’ve gone for a much more sophisticated design, and a lot of green and locally-sourced products,” Robinson Construction Ltd director Philip Robinson says.
“An example is the gabion stone baskets with stones collected from the Wairau River, which has resulted in a really attractive building. It’s blending in with the region while marketing the Pak’nSave brand,” he says.
The detailed contract documentation, extensive planning and collaborative approach from project partners McCoy and Wixon Architects Ltd, Powell Fenwick Consultants Ltd and Chas E George and Sons and Foodstuffs (South Island) Ltd meant that any issues were dealt with swiftly and did not adversely impact the timetable of the project.
Sequencing techniques were used to ensure deadlines were met, including precasting work being completed off-site, mechanical equipment installed prior to the roof-on stage, and a concrete floor slab following the roof-on stage.
Robinson Construction Ltd was involved with the project through every stage, from land development through to the grand opening. The project ran so smoothly that completion ended up ahead of schedule by about a month.
“For a project of this scale to be so far advanced that it was completed a month ahead of schedule is a real achievement,” Robinson Construction Ltd project manager Nick Robinson says.
“It was the result of great teamwork, not just within Robinsons, but with the consultants and the client, and the interaction we all had together,” he says.
Mr Robinson says the new look Pak’nSave was an exciting project to be a part of as the architectural and design elements were truly unique and unexpected of a supermarket.
He says they are eager to be involved in more projects as they are set to roll out across the country.
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