29/04/2026
It’s official - Pā Reo is a certified Living Building Challenge® Full Living project!
Designed by Tennent Brown Architects and part of Te Wānanga o Ruakawa campus in Ōtaki, Pā Reo has passed the certification process to become a sustainable, self-sufficient building under the ultra-strict and world-leading Living Building Challenge® Full Living certification using Living Building Challenge® v.4.0 through Living Future, meeting all 7 Petals and 20 Imperatives.
Pā Reo is part of a very small global club - one of just 38 buildings in the world, and only the second commercial building in Aotearoa, to achieve this qualification. It's been a real team effort, with learning curves galore and years of careful graft to finally get here. We don’t usually like to blow our own trumpet, but it's safe to say we’re absolutely thrilled!
When they call it a challenge they aren’t wrong… it means these extra special buildings have their own on-site water collection and waste treatment plant, generates all its own power, is built solely from meticulously-tested, low-chemical materials to support carbon neutrality, and so much more.
Together with Rawiri Richmond and all the incredible people at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Architects' Ewan Brown, Hugh Tennent and the Tennent Brown team have been dedicated to the vision at every step. With the wellbeing of people and the environment at its heart, Pā Reo is a beacon and a blueprint for the future of sustainable design. Thank you to everyone who has joined us on the journey!
Check out more on Pā Reo and Living Building Challenge® at:
https://tennentbrown.co.nz/news/its-official-pa-reo-is-a-certified-living-building