By Triple Star Management
Aro Hā Health Retreat is an award winning health and wellness facility whose philosophy is based on environmental sustainability. This thinking guided the construction methodologies for its multiple buildings and remains central to the day-to-day operation of the facility.
For Triple Star, Aro Hā was a unique project based on achieving true sustainability. It included the two key challenges of providing complex internal infrastructure, designed to allow the facility to operate off the main power grid, and extensive landscaping and permaculture to promote self-sufficiency and grow produce on site. These two key philosophies of environmental sustainability needed to be carefully managed throughout the life of the project to ensure that the architectural and comfort experience as well as the luxurious nature of the facility were not compromised.
Aro Hā adopts the most advanced principles of modern design with respect to the building envelopes and the services that are provided to them. This project involved nine separate architecturally-designed buildings, including a spa building, five visitor accommodation buildings, a community building (kitchen, dining, administration and communal hub), the ‘Aro Hā' room used for yoga and all teachings and education gatherings and utility buildings. Glasshouses, solar panels and extensive landscaping were also part of the construction programme. All buildings are linked by a series of pedestrian pathways and set amongst a comprehensive landscaping regime.
Passive building technologies were central to the overall design brief for this project and these capabilities maximise the performance of the buildings in order to reduce space heating, power and hot water loads as much as possible and include super-insulated and air-sealed structures and European-sourced, air-sealed joinery.
In addition to the passive building theme, off-grid services at Aro Hā included 450m2of photovoltaic solar panels, plus battery back-up, water bore with solar pumps, sophisticated control and BMS system, a district heating scheme fuelled by solar thermal and log burners, micro hydro scheme, grid intertie and sell back, rainwater collection, and a biogas waste plant.
Project Specs:
Location: Wyuna Preserve
Floor Area: 2466m2
Build Duration: 12 months design, 18 months construction
Completion Date: 2013
Consultant Team:
Main Contractor, Project & Construction Management: Triple Star
Architect: Tennant Brown Architects
Landscape Architect: Darby Partners Limited
Engineers: Civil & Geotech – Aireys; Fire – Holmes Consulting; Structural – Dunning Thornton
Building Services: eCubed
Electrical Services Design: eCubed
Hydro Scheme Design & Installation: Palmers Mechanical
PV and Solar: Solar City
Awards & Accolades:
RMB New Zealand Commercial Project Awards 2016 - National Category Winner
RMB New Zealand Commercial Project Awards 2016 - Gold Award Winner
Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards 2016
Luxury Travel Magazine's 'Best Overseas Health and Wellness Property' in 2015 and 'Best New Property to Visit' in 2014
Welcome to Triple Star. We are an award-winning, full-service project management and construction company located in Central Otago, New Zealand. We have a proven reputation in the management and building of high-end projects.
Our team has considerable experience in all types of residential and commercial construction and we pride ourselves on our relationships and our ability to achieve the highest standards. We look forward to talking to you about your project.
HOW WE GOT HERE
In 2008, Peter Campbell formed Triple Star Management Ltd (Triple Star) in response to the growing demand from international homeowners and investors for a reliable and experienced single point of contact for all their construction needs in Queenstown and the surrounding Central Otago area.
In 2010, Peter Campbell and Karl Poole re-established Edge Construction 2010 Ltd, with the objective of bringing to the market a company that could provide quality construction with effective project management.
The two companies merged in 2015, to become a comprehensive and professional main contractor with integrated services over the entire project cycle. Triple Star is the amalgamation of the two companies and it is now owned by a group of employees who manage key areas of the business, with Peter Campbell and Karl Poole as Company Directors.
Peter is both a qualified builder and project manager, with a university degree in Project Management and Valuation. He has successfully delivered a significant range of commercial projects, including hotels, hospitals, apartments, office buildings, and many retail and high-end residential projects in both the North Island and Queenstown.
Karl completed his apprenticeship with Edge Construction whilst building the prestigious Blanket Bay Lodge near Glenorchy. His attention to detail and building skills were recognised and he progressed quickly to a foreman role. Since this time, over the past twenty years, he has managed the delivery of multiple high-end residential and commercial projects around Queenstown. These include Lot 22 at Wyuna Preserve, 'The Peak' on Queenstown Hill and, most recently, the villa development at Blanket Bay Lodge.