Overview
Entrant:
Summerset Group Holdings Ltd
Category:
09. Residential Design Award for Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (up to 3 levels)
Photographed by:
Summerset
Key team members:
Developer - Summerset
Client - Summerset
Architect - Summerset
Project team - Summerset
Builder/ Contractor - Summerset
Structural Engineer - HFC Structural Engineers
Quantity Surveyor - Summerset Construction
Acoustics - Powell Fenwick
Fire - Powell Fenwick
Sustainability consultant - Summerset
The Summerset Milldale Regional Main Building (RMB) is a three‑storey mixed‑use facility forming the Village Centre of our 6‑hectare Summerset Milldale retirement village on the Hibiscus Coast, Auckland.
The RMB provides communal amenities, care, serviced apartments, and memory care facilities for the wider village, which upon completion will support approximately 300 residents. Traditionally delivered using concrete and steel, this project marked a deliberate shift to engineered timber, representing Summerset’s first use of Cross‑Laminated Timber (CLT) for both mid‑floors and roof structures.
The project demonstrates innovation through the adoption of mass timber within a complex care environment, balancing structural performance, acoustics, fire safety, and buildability.
Sustainability was a primary driver, with timber selected to reduce embodied carbon and contribute to Summerset’s broader environmental objectives. From a delivery perspective, the project achieved measurable programme benefits and improved construction efficiency while maintaining consistency with Summerset’s standard RMB layouts and resident experience.
Use of Timber and Rationale - CLT was used for the first and second floors and the roof structure across three seismically separated zones, supported by timber‑framed walls with plywood and GIB bracing, EBF frames, and a concrete piled substructure. Timber was chosen to reduce building mass, lower seismic demand, and enable faster construction through prefabrication. The lightweight structure also resulted in reduced foundation requirements and improved constructability.
Value Added Through Timber - Construction benefits included faster installation, earlier achievement of watertightness, reduced health and safety risk due to lighter elements, and easier on‑site rectification compared with concrete and steel. The CLT roof system alone delivered an approximate six‑week programme gain.
Aesthetic benefits were realised through a revised façade and roof form, improving the visual quality of the RMB while supporting a flat CLT roof solution with less complexity.
Cost benefits were achieved through reduced substructure demand and programme efficiencies, although sustainability rather than cost was the primary driver.
Timber Species and Applications - The project utilised engineered timber systems including Cross‑Laminated Timber (CLT) for floors and roof structures, alongside laminated veneer lumber (LVL), glulam, and panelised timber framing for walls and structural support. These materials were selected for their structural performance, seismic resilience, and suitability for prefabrication.
Additional Relevant Information - The project required close coordination across design, services, and construction, including advanced BIM modelling, moisture management planning, and bespoke fire engineering solutions. Despite regulatory and market challenges associated with mass timber in New Zealand, the Milldale RMB demonstrates how engineered timber can be successfully integrated into mid‑rise, mixed‑use buildings, delivering sustainable, efficient, and high‑quality outcomes.