Completed in 2025, the Parakiore Recreation & Sports Centre now stands as one of New Zealand’s largest and most advanced sporting complexes. At 32,000 square metres, it’s designed to host everything from local recreation to international competition, housing Olympic-standard pools, high-performance training facilities, nine indoor courts, and New Zealand’s first Aquatic Sensory Experience. Behind this vast operation lies a layer of unseen intelligence, the building management and energy systems engineered and delivered by Setpoint Solutions.
Delivering Intelligent Control
For Setpoint Solutions, Parakiore represents the pinnacle of building automation. “It’s the most complex system we’ve ever delivered,” says Sean Hart, Operations Manager for Setpoint’s Christchurch branch. “The amount of control in one space – HVAC, electrical, lighting, hydraulic, pool systems, and energy monitoring – is unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
Setpoint provided the complete Building Management System (BMS) using Siemens’ latest BMS product range, covering HVAC, lighting controls, and separate pool control systems. These systems communicate through a network of CopperTree Analytics software, specifically Kaizen, an advanced energy management and Fault Detection & Diagnostics (FDD) platform that continually monitors thermal, electrical, and water systems to optimise efficiency.
“The volume of real-time data we’re capturing and analysing means the facility can fine-tune its performance over time,” explains Hart. “It goes beyond automation, it’s about giving the people running the centre detailed insight they need to make smart, energy-saving choices every day.”
Pioneering Sustainability
Among the centre’s many innovations is New Zealand’s first Waste Water Heat Recovery System, an energy-saving technology that recovers heat from wastewater to be used for heating the building spaces and pools. Integrated through the Siemens BMS and monitored via CopperTree’s Kaizen platform, the system helps reduce the energy footprint of the massive aquatic facilities.
“This level of energy monitoring is unmatched,” Hart says. “It’s a huge step forward for how large recreation centres manage their energy and environmental performance, and incorporating Coppertree Analytics to process this data is the perfect pairing.”
Engineering Through Complexity
The project’s timeline was long and challenging, spanning several years and numerous stakeholders. “A project of this scale has so many moving parts, and when you add in construction delays, it becomes a real test of coordination,” recalls Hart. “At one stage, half of our Christchurch branch was working on it in some capacity to meet the handover deadline.”
Integration was another major challenge. The Setpoint team worked closely with design engineers, contractors, and the Christchurch City Council throughout, ensuring seamless collaboration and smooth approvals. “We kept the main contractor involved through each stage,” says Hart. “Having them witness and approve our systems early meant there were no surprises when it came to final consent.”
Innovation in Process
The Parakiore project also inspired internal innovation at Setpoint. To manage such a large, multi-stakeholder process, Hart’s team developed a shared QA checklist system, allowing all parties to document testing and validation collaboratively.
“It was so successful that other projects are now requesting to use the same system,” Hart says. “It streamlined communication and made everyone’s lives easier.”
The People Behind the Project
The Christchurch branch’s achievement was a collective effort led by Hart and supported by engineers Kazuto Kora , Andre Kraenzlin, Juan Fajardo, Linden Keith, and Isuru Pathirage, with Wendy Simpson providing four and a half years of logistical and administrative coordination. The wider team also supported the project through advice and commissioning assistance.
“This project has been part of our branch’s DNA for years,” says Hart. “The dedication and technical capability of the team are what made it possible to deliver such a high-performance system.”
Setting a Benchmark in Building Performance
Now operational and handed over to the Christchurch City Council, Parakiore is equipped with a system designed for longevity and continuous optimisation. The Siemens BMS hardware and CopperTree analytics platform together form an ecosystem that not only maintains reliability but also evolves with data-driven improvements.
“The reliability of the system is paramount,” Hart notes. “We’ve applied lessons from past projects to make sure control strategies are robust and maintainable. Over time, the fault detection and diagnostics tools will help identify issues early and sustain peak efficiency & reliability.”
Looking Ahead
With Parakiore complete, the Christchurch branch has already turned its focus to its next major challenge, the University of Otago School of Medicine project. “We’re taking the same unified team approach and the lessons learned straight into another large-scale build,” says Hart. “At Setpoint, we’re fortunate to have a large, capable team and that’s what allows us to maintain a high standard of work, even when deadlines are demanding.”
The completion of Parakiore marks not just a milestone for Christchurch, but also a testament to Setpoint Solutions’ expertise in smart building technology, energy efficiency, and collaborative delivery. Powered by partners like Siemens and CopperTree Analytics, Setpoint continues to transform complex infrastructure into intelligent, sustainable environments, proving that the smartest systems are the ones that help
