NZ’s first mass timber office block: 1,500 pieces of giant Lego

NZ’s first mass timber office block: 1,500 pieces of giant Lego
Willis Bond senior development manager Will Ellison says wood is best (Image: NZME)
Andrea Malcolm
The developer of New Zealand’s biggest mass timber office block, which will house Tauranga City Council, says nothing comes close to wood for reducing embodied carbon. The council’s new premises, due for completion next year, use 1,500 pieces of prefabricated engineered timber instead of traditional steel and concrete. Developed by Willis Bond, the eight-storey,10,000sq m building has half the embodied carbon – emitted through manufacture, transport and installation of building materials – of a traditional stee...

More Infrastructure

Global coalition to stop building the same road twice
Infrastructure

Global coalition to stop building the same road twice

You get $4 in benefits for every $1 invested in infrastructure resilience, CDRI says.

Dileepa Fonseka 06 Oct 2025
Auckland’s Milldale housing project approved
Policy

Auckland’s Milldale housing project approved

The project is the third approved since applications opened in February.

Michael Neilson 03 Oct 2025
Northport expansion gets green light, updated conditions
Infrastructure

Northport expansion gets green light, updated conditions

Shares in Port of Tauranga, which owns 50% of Northport, rose 2% after the news.

John Anthony 03 Oct 2025
Industry backs government freight strategy moves
Infrastructure

Industry backs government freight strategy moves

The move will strengthen supply chain resilience.

Rebecca Howard 02 Oct 2025