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A New Home from the Ashes

When a friend planned to rebuild his fire-damaged home Wellington Architect David Pawson stepped in to help out with help from Tony Hodson from EBUILD who were the Builders and Project Managers.

With the collaboration between Architect, owner and a Quantity Surveyor a decision was reached...

Speldhurst Country Estate: A New Era for Levin

With $150m of planned development including 400 new standalone homes and a community centre, Levin’s new ‘Speldhurst Country Estate’ promises to be much more than a retirement village.

Developer and prominent local Wayne Bishop is not only passionate about providing the best possible...

A small community can achieve big things

The Gore Playcentre was at a crossroads back in 2014: it was outgrowing its current building and must find the funds to meet an increase in lease or find a new home. The Gore Toy Library and Parents Centre were facing similar issues with unsustainable lease arrangements. 

This predicament...

A Shared Interest in Green, Sustainable Homes

Architectural designer Sally Turnbull began her working life as a medical technologist but a stint as a builder’s labourer while building her first home gave her a taste for architecture.  She went on to study architectural technology and started her own company Architectural Draughting &...

Metrotile CF Slate Provides a New Solution for an Old Problem

Even before the Christchurch earthquakes Paul Ward and his family were having issues with their house, namely a leaky roof. He and his wife, who had design input, had built the house 18 years ago and used an asphalt shingle product imported from Canada for the roofing.  
“We had issues with...

Privacy by design

Kiwis are renowned for enjoying outdoor living in their backyards, shielded from the streets and its associated passersby and traffic. So, when clients wanted to use their north-facing front yard, which faced on to a cul de sac, for entertaining, it provided some challenges for Solutions...

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Green Star, Homestar and metal roofing.

NZMRM and NZ Steel are members of the NZ Green Building Council 

We have previously discussed the long process of having metal roofing recognised by NZGBC as eligible for credit under the MAT-8 rating in the Green Star accreditation system which recognises the sustainability of products...

Arcline Architecture: Inspired Boatshed


Taking his inspiration from Waiheke Island’s boutique hotel The Boatshed, Uwe Weiland had a firm concept plan for his new home in Russell. It was important to Uwe that the house be sympathetic to the colonial character of the seaside town, and the boatshed aesthetic was fitting considering...

Gerard features in designer show home

When Auckland architectural design firm SK Design want to inspire future homeowner clients, they won’t even need to leave their office.

Their brand new business premises in the North Shore suburb of Orewa also doubles as a four-bedroom show home of their own design, and features a Gerard...

Higham Architecture

When a 1600m2 site in West Melton was purchased the owners were looking to build their “forever” home - something that would capture the magnificence of the rural vista to the mountains in contrast to their hectic urban lifestyle. This became the challenge for Rangiora architectural designer,...

Hillary’s Hut

Re-roofing Hillary’s hut at Scott Base
An iconic piece of New Zealand’s history – Sir Edmund Hillary’s hut at Scott Base – has been completely restored with roofing and cladding installed late last year by specialist standing seam roofer Mike Burgess, who talks to Jenny Bain. The hut is an...

Vorstermans Architects: Hillside House, Wellington

Building a stylish and affordable home on a steep, south-facing site was a big challenge for Vorstermans Architects. But it’s one they met so well that the  ‘Hillside House’ recently won a New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) Wellington Architecture Award. 

As the NZIA jury noted: “...

Dalman Architects

The project initially commenced in 2007, after the Salvation Army outgrew its former Durham Street building. They had purchased their ideal block of land on the corner of Colombo and Salisbury Streets, and engaged Dalman Architect’s to complete the design. After a number of hurdles, the building...

Phil Green: H G Rose Architecture

When a designer who thinks outside the “little boxes on the hillside”, collaborates with an established building industry leader to create a building reflecting the client’s ethos of quality and honesty, the result can be spectacular. 

The Certified Builders Association of New Zealand (...

Energy efficiency, sustainability and durability

When architect Mitchell Coll designed two adjoining townhouses in central Christchurch, he also future-proofed them by making them removable and joinable. “Eventually the land will be worth more than the buildings so I would like to think that they will be moved off and used as baches rather...

RECOVERING FROM THE EARTHQUAKE...AND THEN A FLOOD

Like a lot of Christchurch homeowners, Phil Grey and his family were left in limbo when the earthquakes hit the city in February 2011.

The family bungalow and section beside the Heathcote River was substantially damaged beyond a full repair and was deemed a rebuild. 

Phil, an...

A NEW ROOFING SYSTEM FROM METROTILE

Metrotile’s new Shingle concealed fastening roofing product is an innovative system that offers roof watertightness. With an interlocking Secure Lock (SL) lap system that can be installed direct-to-deck. 

Key features of the CF Shingle System:

  • Concealed fastening 
  • ...

little oasis in the city

The concept for this home was simple: a shed in the bush.

But the site – down from the road in a gully with a stream – posed some design challenges.

As architectural designer Noel Jessop says, “With the fog and weather patterns we already have in Hamilton, building 15m below the...

Mark Gray: Jacks Point Home

By no means would Jenny and Murray Butler describe themselves as “greenies” but they could both see the sense in building a sustainable, energy-efficient holiday home in Queenstown.

The couple, who live in Auckland, had bought a piece of land in the exclusive Jack’s Point subdivision and...

Saint Bartholomew’s Church: A Church on the move

St Bartholomew’s Church dates from 1855 and is the oldest timber church in Canterbury. It was designed by the renowned architect of the day, Benjamin Woodfield Mountfort and followed an earlier timber and brick church, located in Lyttelton, in the South Island. This particular church had been...

Sistema

Plastics business Sistema is renowned for its bold and innovative approach and that attitude has continued through to its new state-of-the-art facilities near Auckland International Airport.

On a 9.6ha site, the 52,000sq m building is one of the largest and most advanced manufacturing...

Metrotile’s new Antica tile upholds school’s aesthetic heritage

A large re-roof project for Parnell District School is part of the government’s seismic strengthening project around old school buildings in New Zealand.

The first outing for Ross Roof Group’s Antica tile was a large re-roof project for Parnell District School in St Stephen’s Avenue. It...

Chapel Street Centre: Dalman Architects

When Dalman Architects designed the Chapel Street Centre, the brief from the Christchurch North Methodist Parish was to express elements of who they were and their Christian mission to the community.

The original church was demolished due to damage sustained in the 2010 and 2011...

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