Auckland students win by sustainable design

Auckland students win by sustainable design

Auckland Regional Council, the Hobsonville Land Company, and The University of Auckland joint press release

4 July 2008

Winners of the ‘Auckland Low Impact Design Student Competition’ were announced today.

Open to University of Auckland Civil and Environmental Engineering students, the competition brief was to re-design a system that reduces stormwater runoff and pollution in new housing developments, while contributing to good urban design.

The competition was jointly sponsored by the Auckland Regional Council, the Hobsonville Land Company - a subsidiary of Housing New Zealand Corporation - with support from The University of Auckland.

The proposed re-design area covered 25 hectares of land in north-west Auckland currently being developed by the Hobsonville Land Company, and was to “set new benchmarks for sustainable development” using a Low Impact Design (LID) approach.

Low Impact Design prevents excess stormwater runoff and stream erosion, and reduces the pollution of waterways from contaminants such as sediment, zinc, copper and lead.

Katja Lietz Sustainability Manager with the Hobsonville Land Company said: "Low Impact Design is an important part of sustainable urban development. We were impressed with the quality of entries for this real-life competition, with several of the teams coming up with creative ideas that we are keen to explore further."

The winning team were Alex Cheah, Jonathan Church and Andrew Hope. They received a prize of $1,500. Runners up were Jade Gibson, Rachel Kelly and Julia Wells, who received $1,000. The third place went to Nick Hohaia, Sam Reed and Leon West, who received $500.

Competition judge and University of Auckland Civil and Environmental Engineering Senior Lecturer, Dr Elizabeth Fassman said: “The winning design reflects a thoughtful approach to the technical challenges of LID. As the concept is still being adapted for Auckland conditions, students explored multiple alternatives for managing stormwater as well as considered the engineering aspects of design which are not currently well-defined."

ARC Environment Management Chair, Dianne Glenn said the competition is the first of its kind in New Zealand, and is important for the uptake of Low Impact Design principles in stormwater management.

“This exciting competition, now in its third year, not only raises awareness of the problems our marine ecosystems and urban streams face, it also encourages students to be part of the solution. I was very impressed by their demonstration of ingenuity and passion,” says Cr Glenn.

- Ends -

© Scoop Media