Overview
Entrant:
Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers, Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers, Field Studio of
Architecture + Urbanism and Naylor Love Canterbury
Category:
07. Sustainable Development Award
Photographed by:
Sarah Rowlands
Key team members:
Field Studio of Architecture and Urbanism
Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers
Naylor Love Construction
Red Stag
New Zealand’s first purpose-built youth hub opened in October 2024 at 109 Salisbury Street, Christchurch - a three-storey wrap-around services block with a dozen youth support organisations and a two-storey transitional housing wing rooms for 22 young people.
Three dimensions of sustainability
Social
Co-designed by young people and youth organisations; warmth and belonging over institution
Timber’s non-institutional warmth directly supports therapeutic outcomes for residents
39 young people have already been housed, rooms at full capacity in Year 1; up to 10 referrals per available room
Environmental
280,000 kgCO₂e embodied carbon advantage over the steel/concrete alternative
~150 kgCO₂e/m² upfront; ~15 kgCO₂e/m² net including stored biogenic carbon (IStructE SCORS Grade A)
Fully bolted and screwed superstructure - designed for disassembly at end of life
Up to 92% construction waste diverted from landfill (BRANZ pilot study, Naylor Love)
Economic
Timber cost-equivalent to steel/concrete. No premium for choosing low-carbon
Early contractor collaboration and lighter structure reduced connection and foundation costs. Savings directed to care delivery
High-performance envelope and centralised heating cut operational costs, freeing resources for people rather than premises
The residents drove the decision
Young people co-designed this building. When asked what mattered most, climate anxiety ranked as a primary concern. The design team listened.
Structural optioneering was completed at concept stage: steel and concrete versus an engineered timber frame. Embodied carbon assessment showed a 280,000 kgCO₂e swing in favour of timber, equivalent to 812 Christchurch–Auckland return flights. Cost was equivalent. The decision was shaped by evidence, and by the values of the people the building would serve.
The cellular room layout, product of the co-design process, proved ideally suited to a well-distributed timber shear wall system. Structural efficiency and social purpose aligned from first principles.
The structure
The primary frame is GL10 glulam, with ductile plywood shear walls and LVL floor and roof framing throughout. Steel appears only where geometry demands it. Early collaboration with Red Stag simplified connections and eliminated costly steel bracketry. Savings that went directly to care delivery in a community-funded project.
On high-liquefaction ground with shallow peat, the lighter superstructure enabled a simple shallow foundation grid. Comprehensive BIM coordination resolved hundreds of connections and service penetrations before construction.
Material and meaning
Gifted the kahikatea as its cultural narrative (a symbol of interconnectedness and collective strength) the building needed a material that could hold that meaning. Exposed glulam says home; concrete says institution. Cork floors add warmth underfoot and acoustic softness in health spaces. Kahikatea veneer highlights the atrium and tukutuku-inspired plywood walls. Timber works at every scale, from structure to finish.
Outcomes
The project won the Property Council Excellence Award for Sustainability and the 2025 SESOC Structural Sustainability Award. In Year 1, 39 young people were housed at full occupancy. “We’re especially proud to hear from our residents that they feel safe and supported,” says the Housing Manager. The buildings perform as designed socially, environmentally, and economically.