The fate of two of Wellington's buildings on Civic Square will be decided today, with the current preference to demolish both. Both the Municipal Office Building and the Civic Administration Building are earthquake damaged, and empty.
The cost of fixing both is estimated to sit at around $50 million. Instead, the City Council's preferred option is to spend $7 million on demolition, and then sell off the land.
But the Chief Executive of the Green Building Council, Andrew Eagles, says there should be more emphasis on preserving existing buildings, due to the high carbon cost of demolition.
He told Wellington reporter Harry Lock all organisations should assess the carbon impact of their decision before they make it.
The council says no carbon impact assessment was done for either building.
