Ethos

The challenges of design appeal to me.

The wish list often competes with the budget. The vision clashes with the district plan rules. The wish for sustainability collides with the need for expediency. For me, part of the art is in finding successful compromise, and good communication is often the key.

Finding the point of balance has always interested me, and not just in architecture: whether it involves sailing, landscaping, sculpture, or simply cutting a piece of timber… anywhere. I enjoy the challenge.

I tend to be drawn to affordable and efficient solutions that use robust natural processes - such as passive solar heating - but I also appreciate that with our fast-changing world some technologies can make our lives easier and our environment cleaner, so I am always ready to include appropriate solutions.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a constantly changing area where cost, regulations, the uncertainty of promising (but perhaps soon obsolete) technologies, are all relevant.

At the moment we use the term loosely; a building can be referred to as sustainable if its energy use is reduced, but the bigger picture needs to take into account the embedded energy involved in creating the structure too.

Recycle

I have always been enthusiastic about recycling materials that have a unique quality: for example the lustre of an old rimu or matai floor, the patina of an aged leadlight.

Fortunately fewer of these valuable resources are going to waste as people start to appreciate their value, due now to their increasing rarity.

In the building industry today we are relying on a diminishing choice of natural materials and having to choose between an ever expanding range of exotic substitutes. Many of these present beautifully in a modern context.

Zero-Energy Buildings

To an increasing extent the concept of zero-energy buildings (ZEB) has become a focus of building design.

The picture is not so clear with building technology.

It is interesting to realise that with the latest trend towards photovoltaics, many panels still require more energy to create than they are capable of generating in their lifetimes. However these are all developing technologies and hopefully will improve.

We are lucky in New Zealand and have been described as the Saudi Arabia of sustainable resources. Hydro, geothermal, solar technology and wind farms are all viable.

We also have a flourishing, sustainable timber industry from which we construct most of our homes and these perform very well in this environment. Species such as Douglas Fir, Macrocarpa and Redwood require significantly less treatment levels.

When I first began as an architecture student we were encouraged to consider that there were two approaches to sustainable design - high tech / low impact and high tech / high impact. Some examples:

High tech / Low Impact	High tech / High Impact
Passive solar	Photo voltaics
Passive ventilation	Heat recovery ventilation
Reed beds and wetlands	Biolytics and aeration
Shade sails	Low emission and smart glass

 

Both approaches rely on good design before construction, however the high impact solution often also relies on ongoing, competent maintenance.