Countdown Richmond

Countdown Richmond is a 3,450 square metre supermarket and 550 square metres speciality retail development on the outskirts of Nelson. The flagship Countdown is the first 5 Green Star Design and As-Built supermarket to open in New Zealand and incorporates many sustainability features, including EV charging points, solar panels, digital shelf labels, above code insulation, low energy lighting and energy-efficient services.

We were pleased to support the client’s sustainability goals through sustainable construction practices, planning carefully to secure materials to meet the Green Star requirements while also utilising as many local trades as possible to benefit the community. We used aggregate recycled from the previous building on the site and suggested that all insitu concrete contain a minimum of 15% fly ash, which reduced the carbon footprint significantly. We ensured that the timber was all FFC certified, and kept careful records of the paints, adhesives and sealants used to track the overall VOC levels. We managed to reuse or recycle 83% of the waste from the project, diverting over 100 tonnes of waste from landfill.

Delivery by June 2021 was critical for the client, but the start date was pushed out due to Resource Consent delays, then Covid-19 lockdowns and supply chain disruptions further impacted the programme. We were also affected by significant infrastructure projects on both road boundaries, which restricted access to the site. Our team adapted to the ever-changing situation, working collaboratively with the consultants and our subcontractors to value engineer the project, accelerate the programme and reschedule works to keep the project on track.