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31 Mar 2026
Masterspec Specified: 211 High Street by Ignite
211 High Street transforms the iconic Excelsior Hotel site into a high-quality, sustainable, commercial mixed-use building. The ground floor features...
25 Mar 2026
Why AI Changes How We Trust Construction Specifications
AI has not created the risk of inaccurate or misused construction specifications, but it has made that risk faster, easier to scale, and harder to...
04 Mar 2026
2025 Building Code Update and Building Product Specifications
On 28th July 2025, MBIE's Building Product Specifications (BPS) document came into effect. This document, to be read alongside the Acceptable...
19 Nov 2025
Masterspec Specified: Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre
Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre stands as a landmark civic and cultural facility in the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. Designed by Woods...
15 Oct 2025
Masterspec Specified: Air New Zealand Hangar 4 by Studio Pacific Architecture
The project was designed to meet Green Star environmental standards and includes advanced cladding, roofing, and mechanical systems tailored for...
10 Oct 2025
Bridging the Gap: Empowering Better Specifications for Builders
At this year’s Constructive Conference in Auckland, we asked every delegate we spoke with: “What can we do to improve construction documentation and...
24 Sep 2025
NECO₂ – New Zealand’s Embodied Carbon Repository Goes Live
New Zealand’s construction sector has taken a major step providing New Zealand-centric carbon data with the launch of the first release of NECO₂ – the...
22 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Bryndwr House One by AO Architecture
Tucked into a secluded rear site behind a mature, tree-lined driveway in leafy Bryndwr, this new family home forms one half of a pair of residences...
22 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Flockhill Sugarloaf by Hierarchy Group
Nestled in the remote Craigieburn Valley of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, Sugarloaf at Flockhill is more than a restaurant — it’s an architectural...
12 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning He Whare Hono ō Tūwharetoa by DCA Architects of Transformation
In the heart of Taupō, a landmark civic building is redefining the relationship between architecture, culture, and governance.
08 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Terrace 12C by Bassett-Smith Architecture
Terrace 12C is a residential development located in Tauranga, designed to maximise site efficiency while maintaining architectural individuality. The...
08 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Miller Residences by Oliver Andrew Associates
In the heart of Auckland, the Miller Residences by Oliver Andrew Associates stand as a refined example of contemporary multi-unit housing — where...
01 Apr 2025
Document Referencing and Scheduling with eCert
Our editor team has updated all Masterspec work sections which have references to environmental documents. Where environmental document references...
27 Mar 2025
Update Manager New Features
The new Update Manager features are designed to boost productivity when applying changes to updated work sections. Simplify work section updates with...
03 Mar 2025
CIL is Now Accepting Product Carbon Data for the National Embodied Carbon Data Repository for Construction.
CIL Masterspec is now accepting carbon information in the form of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) from...
06 Jan 2025
Carbon 2025 and Beyond: Building a More Sustainable Future for NZ Construction
In July 2024, Construction Information Ltd (CIL) and the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) announced a partnership to develop a...
01 Nov 2024
Introducing eCert: A Game-Changing Tool for Sustainable Construction
As the New Zealand construction industry increasingly focuses on sustainability and carbon reduction, there is a growing need for tools that can help...
26 Sep 2024
Masterspec Specified: Manawa House by Cube Architecture
"Masterspec has been an indispensable tool for our project Manawa House. During the specification, Masterspec streamlined our entire specification...
26 Sep 2024
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Ligar Bay Bach by Young Architects
"Masterspec was used for providing a detailed, fully customised, specification as part of our comprehensive project documentation for the Ligar Bay...
25 Sep 2024
Masterspec Specified: Hilltop Home by Jon McAlpine Architecture
“Masterspec is a critical component in our studio. Its user-friendly platform and regular product specification updates, keep us constantly on the...

UPDATES TO MASTERSPEC SUSTAINABLE & GREEN BUILDING GENERAL SECTIONS

29 Sep 2020

Prompted by major changes to Green Star by New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) and Living Building Challenge (LBC) document changes, Masterspec decided to review all the existing sustainable/green/ESD system Masterspec General sections, these are:
  • 1226CE CEMO PROJECT - SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
  • 1226CS CEMO PROJECT - SELECTION SCHEDULES
  • 1226GD GREEN STAR PROJECT – SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
  • 1226GO GREEN STAR - TECHNICAL CREDIT SCHEDULE
  • 1226GT GREEN STAR INTERIORS - TECHNICAL CREDIT SCHEDULE
  • 1226HM HOMESTAR PROJECT – SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
  • 1226HT HOMESTAR PROJECT - SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
  • 1226LB LBC PROJECT – SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
  • 1226LS LBC - IMPERATIVE SUBMISSIONS SCHEDULE
  • 1226SP SUSTAINABLE PROJECT – SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS (generic)
CEMO Changes
A Circular Economy Model Office (CEMO) essentially aims to minimise waste created by the refurbishment and build of offices by using the principles of a Circular Economy.  A Circular Economy is one where the lifecycle of materials is maximised, by reuse, repurposing or recycling. The changes have been relatively minor with some adjustments to clauses and schedules, and some updated links.

The following are the amended sections republished on 1st October 2020:
  • 1226CE CEMO PROJECT - SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS (available in Masterspec, Standard, Basic, Interiors, Services)
  • 1226CS CEMO PROJECT - SELECTION SCHEDULES (available in Masterspec, Standard, Basic, Interiors, Services)
Living Building Challenge (LBC) Changes
The intention of the Living Building Challenge is to create a restorative or regenerative non-toxic, beautiful and durable building, appropriate to its project, place and bioregion.
A Living Building essentially aims to generate all the energy and water it needs from the sun and rain falling on the site and treat all wastewater on site. It uses no materials containing toxic chemicals noted in the Red List and aims for 80-100% waste diversion. All projects must restore or enhance the ecological performance of their sites and buildings must contain biophilic features and allow every occupant access to daylight and natural ventilation.
Changes include:
The following are the amended sections republished on 1st October 2020:
  • 1226LB LBC PROJECT – SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS (available in Masterspec, Standard, Interiors, Landscapes, Services, Structural & Civil)
  • 1226LS LBC PROJECT - IMPERATIVE SUBMISSIONS SCHEDULE (available in Masterspec, Standard, Interiors, Landscapes, Services, Structural & Civil) (minor title update)
Sustainable Project (Generic Section) Changes
This generic section can be used as the basis for all types of projects not requiring a formal environmental rating system. The changes have been relatively minor with some adjustments to Related Work, Abbreviations, and some updated links.

The following is the amended section republished on 1st October 2020:
  • 1226SP SUSTAINABLE PROJECT – SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS (available in Masterspec, Standard, Basic, Interiors, Services, Structural & Civil)
Homestar Changes
Homestar is NZ Green Building Council's (NZGBC) national rating tool for residential projects to reduce the environmental impact of the construction and operation of buildings of NZ houses.  The sections assumes the project is aiming for a 6 Homestar rating or higher.  However, as a general guide, higher rating 8-10 Homestar generally involves additional technology such as photovoltaic panels, heat recovery units and greywater reuse. By registering to use the Passive House standard as well as Homestar, can increase your Homestar rating in the following credit categories: EHC-1, EHC-2 and EHC-4 (and EHC-3 by using a Passive House-type MHRV system).
Changes encompass the amendments to the Homestar tool, Homestar v4, to the new Homestar v4.1 Technical Manual. Changes include:
For both sections:
  • Incorporating Homestar v4.1 changes
  • Additional related sections and schedules
  • Updating links to Homestar and REBRI documents
  • Updating Toitu enviromark gold and other links
For 1226HT HOMESTAR PROJECT - SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS:
  • Added MAT-2 to tables and Q&A
Note, we understand consultation has taken place for Homestar v5.0, due within the year.

The following are the amended sections republished on 1st October 2020:
  • 1226HM HOMESTAR PROJECT – SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS (available in Masterspec, Standard, Basic, Landscapes, Services)
  • 1226HT HOMESTAR PROJECT - SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS (available in Masterspec, Standard, Basic, Landscapes, Services) 
Green Star Changes
NZ Green Building Council's (NZGBC) have recently changed their Green Star tools from:
The changes these documents bring are radically different and complex, and do not align with the format of the old documents. Also they are largely based on the Australian Green Star requirements and still reference some parts of the Australian National Construction Code (Building Code). These references to the Australian Code have not yet been fully aligned or equivalency shown, to the NZ Building Code, to enable translation into New Zealand specifications.
Masterspec continue to work with NZGBC to try to resolve these difficulties. So unfortunately we cannot provide Green Star updates this month as planned, however, we will make all the new versions available as soon as we have them completed.

The following are existing sections (not updated yet):
  • 1226GD GREEN STAR PROJECT – SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS (available in Masterspec, Standard, Interiors, Landscapes, Services, Structural & Civil)
  • 1226GO GREEN STAR - TECHNICAL CREDIT SCHEDULE (available in Masterspec, Standard, Interiors, Landscapes, Services, Structural & Civil)
  • 1226GT GREEN STAR INTERIORS - TECHNICAL CREDIT SCHEDULE (available in Masterspec, Standard, Interiors, Services, Structural & Civil)