For Christmas I made my 2 year old daughter a doll’s house. Not just any old dolls house, mind you. My designer brain had to create something in an architectural style! I chose the classic bungalow so prevalent throughout New Zealand! The bungalow is characterized by: long, medium pitched roofs (lower than the pitch of Villas which came before) exposed timber in the eaves, deep porches (often within the overall roof, rather than separate tack on) bevelback weatherboards, often with areas of shingles bay or projecting windows, and; dark interior timbers. I distilled all these key ..read more

With building costs spiralling out of control in the last few years, it's never been more important to find ways to save money on your build to make it more achievable. Here are our simple hacks to help. You're welcome.   Efficient layout Design to maximize functions in a minimal space. Reduce or eliminate circulation spaces like passages and additional rooms such as laundries or sculleries. Make use of standard material sizes, usually multiples of 600 or 1200. For renovations, prioritize utilizing existing space before considering any additions. Reduce or omit materials Can you keep the ..read more

There has been a bit in the news on medium density housing in the last few years, probably along with some confusion as to what it is. For example, many reactions to a recent council proposal were based on the assumption that it was a social housing project, but it was merely a suggested change to the District Plan for certain residential areas. In fact, medium density housing has a much wider purpose than just getting people into homes, though that is important. Here, we detail some of the benefits...  Firstly, what is medium density? BRANZ has adopted the definition of medium density ho ..read more

More than a trend Sustainability is at the forefront of many people’s minds in all areas of innovation right now as governments and families the world over begin to face the climate crisis and consider how their lifestyle impacts on their carbon footprint. When it comes to construction of homes and other large building projects, there are not only costs for the paying client but environmental costs too. The process of resource consumption throughout the construction timeline gives us much to think about in terms of how we can minimise our impact on the natural environment, and since the natura ..read more

We often get asked what kind of architectural styles we like and design Architects or designers may focus on a particular style or method, or they might be more fluid in their aesthetic or approach. We definitely fall under the latter camp and love working with our clients to bring the approach that fits in with what influences them and suits the parameters of site, location and their lifestyle.   Another way to think about it is genres of music: Do you focus on one particular sound or artist, or do you enjoy a wide range of styles? I love music and, as a musician, I would get bored ..read more

Image Credit: McManus et al (2010) Recently I was listening to a podcast episode on paradigm shifts. A paradigm is how you see the world or the way you view reality. It is embedded in your unconscious, so to see it you need to step back from yourself. Take the picture to the right, which can be seen two different ways. When you first look at it, it appears to be one thing. Do you see a duck? What if I tell you the beak is rabbit ears?… …Stuck? Tilt your head to the left... Now you can look at it a completely different way! A paradigm shift is likewise what happens when you see your own biases ..read more

May 2023 has brought along with it a significant update for the residential insulation standards in New Zealand. The new H1 compliance that was effective 4 August 2022 is almost completely in force. What that means for us in the lower North Island is:  The key changes  Roofs have seen a massive jump in the required insulation value, which will mean some changes in construction or methodology.  Concrete slabs on their own will no longer be deemed to comply, so edge insulation is likely to become more common. This is great as most of the heat loss in a slab is through the edge ..read more

There is a misconception that passive house is only for standalone homes. As Deborah discussed on our blog last year, this is a result of the compromises of translation from German to English: Passivhaus — Passive House. But can it really benefit developers to incorporate this same principle into their projects? When it comes to commercial buildings the developers and the end users can often be on opposite sides of the equation, but high performing commercial builds are better for everyone. Here's 5 ways that Passive House works both for developers and occupants.    1 - Ease to achie ..read more

Something that I love to do is overseas travel. There is something simply inspiring about experiencing different places - the cities, people, cultures, landscape - all while having a holiday! It broadens your horizons and connects you in with world history. Unfortunately I haven't been able to do this for the last few years, however I thought it would be great to reminisce and share my top 10 buildings that I've visited. This list is limited to buildings that I've experience inside and out, not just based on the exterior, and since most of my travel has been concentrated in Europe that's where ..read more

When one thinks of passive house they probably think - like I did - that it's to keep the house warm through winter. And while that's correct, it's only part of the picture because overheating in summer gets overlooked. In fact, this is so important that in many parts of NZ the main factor to consider in a passive house is actually overheating rather than heating demand. Further, as temperatures are expect to rise this is only going to be more of an issue.  And it's not just about opening windows, because what happens when you're away all day to a shut house? I'm sure we can all recall wh ..read more