Dr Mazin Bahho, who teaches spatial and 3D design at EIT’s IDEAschool, has spent some years retrofitting an existing log cabin on EIT’s Taradale campus.
The site has strong historical, cultural and spiritual associations with the local Māori community and was chosen by Mazin to become an exemplar for sustainable building practices and the basis for his PhD.
Today, the previously abandoned cabin is an eco-friendly, sustainable building with insulation, double-glazed windows, solar panels, water storage and a wastewater treatment system.
Mazin’s vision of sustainability has become the catalyst for EIT’s broader focus on sustainability across all programmes, using the Ōtātāra site as an outdoor learning in nature space. (LINK to section 18)
It is planned that this space will be used across a wide range of programmes, supported by funding through the Air New Zealand Environment Trust.