Auckland’s Eco Ironbank Features Robotic Car Stacking Garage

Completed in 2009, the Ironbank is a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/10/07/blooming-terraced-building-to-spring-up-in-slovenia-next-year/" target="_blank">mixed-use</a> office and retail building in Auckland that has received a number of accolades for its rusty "container" architecture, environmentally-sustainable design, and its impressive parking garage featuring an <a href="http://www.ironbank.co.nz/video-gallery/" target="_blank">innovative robotic car stacking system</a>. Designed by Aukland-based <a href="http://www.rtastudio.co.nz/" target="_blank">RTA Studio</a>, the <a href="http://www.ironbank.co.nz/index.cfm" target="_blank">Ironbank</a> is not only ecologically and sustainably designed, but it was recently awarded 5-Star Green Star rating awarded by the <a href="http://www.nzgbc.org.nz/">New Zealand Green Building Council</a>.

The mixed-use office and retail building is located in a historic area of Aukland, at the edge of the city's central business district.

The front contains retail space facing a commercial street, while the back maintains a seven-story office tower.

The tower is composed of a series of stacked rusty "containers" with large windows that offer a view of the city.

The building front has been built to the same height of the historic Victorian and Edwardian commercial buildings that surround it.

The building was recently awarded with a 5-Star Green Star Rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council for its environmental design.

The mixed-use building includes rainwater collection, natural ventilation via a night time purge system, energy-efficient lighting, solar hot water heating, and more.

In 2009, it received three architecture awards in the "commercial", "sustainable" and "urban design" categories of the New Zealand Institute of Architects Auckland awards.

It also received second place at the European World Architecture Festival, making it the best-scoring New Zealand entrant ever at the festival.

The project also features an innovative automatic car stacking system that uses a robot to efficiently place cars on an underground rack.

The car stacking system has 25 dedicated spaces for small cars.