Webinar: Te Huhi Raupō - Local and global impact

In Episode 03 of our Dialogue series, hear from Alexandra Smith, Associate at Warren and Mahoney, who was part of the design team for Te Huhi Raupō - the new renal dialysis unit at Taranaki Base Hospital.

View Dialogue EP03 here.

Awarded the European Healthcare Design Award in 2023, and Highly Commended at the European Healthcare Design Champions Awards (2015-2024), Te Huhi Raupō illustrates how we can collectively deliver world-leading healthcare facilities that benefit our communities and the planet.

“The design approach was to provide patients with a welcoming and comfortable space that not only provided clinical services but also contributed to their mental wellbeing. Light and airy, with large north-facing windows looking out onto landscaped gardens and sea views, the facility offers a positive experience in a bright, open, non-clinical, patient-focused space,” said Alexandra.

“Te Huhi Raupō quite literally touches the earth lightly. It enables regeneration of the site’s ecology, with native planting, overland stormwater paths leading to retention ponds, rainwater harvesting tanks, e-bike charging stations, and end-of-trip facilities.”

“In addition, the building has an incredible carbon story. With mass timber construction and driven timber piles, the building has an upfront embodied carbon of only 324kg CO₂e/m²  - well below the net zero target. The ultimate result is similar to what would happen if we hadn’t built the building at all and instead planted half the site in forest and left it for one year.”

While we continue to work with our client to gather performance data and finalise the zero-energy certification, we know we have delivered a world-leading result for sustainable healthcare architecture. This is a building that moves beyond sustainability towards regenerative design. It’s a facility with a net positive impact on its natural environment.

Te Huhi Raupō serves as a powerful reminder that healthcare architecture can transcend its functional role to become a force for good, improving the health and wellness of people, communities, and the planet.

View Dialogue EP03 here.