 
 The Dominion Post, Saturday, 6 February 2010
BUILDING A FUN PLACE FOR WORK
Its glass atrium with bridges linking two towers will conjure visions of the laser fights of Star Wars. Its owner says it will be the best building in Wellington. Matt Caiman talks to the people behind the $100 million Willis Central building.
 THE CONSTRUCTION site that stretches between Boulcott and Willis streets has been a curiosity for Wellingtontans, with early morning commuters peering into the pit as its twin towers creep towards the sky. Wellington property developer Ian Cassels, of The Wellington Company, seldom looks into the pit but says watching his vision become reality is one of the most exciting parts of his job. "It's in the ground for a while then it just sprouts. I'm incredibly lucky because I get to dream and scheme and things happen." The 12-storey complex is on track for completion in the middle of next year, when 1700 Telecom workers will converge on their new Wellington home base from their current three sites. The building has the top five-star green rating. Seventy per cent of demolition and construction waste will be recycled. The shell of an existing building has been retained for construction of the Willis, tower. Sensor lights go when the toilets are occupied. Cycle storage will be provided for five per cent of staff and visitors, and roof water will be collected to re-use for toilet flushing. Mr Cassels says a large component of achieving a truly green building is choosing a sustainable location. The same building could be built in Auckland "that you can't get to apart from on motorways". "A green building is only green if it works in an environment that supports it." Mr Cassels says in the boom of the 1980s, before the 1987 sharemarket crash, buildings in Wellington were just thrown up at high speed. Demand was insatiable, but in many cases not a lot of thought was put into it, he says. Willis Central will be different. "It will be the best building in the city. This will be dramatic. It will be fun to work in." 
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