Posts for Construction
Wynyard Quarter Smart | tracking our progress towards a sustainable tomorrow
The vision of the Sustainable Development Framework is to be the leading location of sustainable urban transformation and renewal in Auckland and across New Zealand. Source: Wynyard Quarter Smart | tracking our progress towards a sustainable tomorrow
Council and privacy
Our assumption is that council is passing on all the building consent application and is making it public. You will find it on websites like Whatson. However, there is a privacy act in New Zealand. So I wonder how that ties in.
Banking on green – but how to develop
I am hearing a lot about great sustainable buildings, however in 99% of all cases the articles fail to deliver some hard fact, ie numbers. What is sustainable about them, what is their water use, energy use. What materials have they used? What great features were…
Do we rate environmentally?
A nice summary of our sustainability status can be found in the build magazine. I would generally agree with the article. While we have an abundance of materials, knowledge and tools, we still struggle to deliver.
Rural America’s Silent Housing Crisis – just like NZ
A very interesting article about the housing crisis in the US. Interestingly enough, New Zealand is not the only place with a discussion about affordable living and house prices. However this article touches on a slightly different matter, namely the housing crisis in rural areas.
Significant amendments to the Resource Management Act signalled by Government
According to my experience over the last ten years, it is not the act being the issue, it’s the people interpreting it. Any overhaul should address arbitrary interpretation. When we talk about resources, we should be discussing effects on land, air, water predominantly, not the…
Solar Thermal Is Really, Really Dead – or isn’t it?
A very interesting article on solar thermal and solar PV. it’s now cheaper to heat water with a photovoltaic array than solar thermal collectors. It would be quite interesting to make up some numbers and comparisons for New Zealand since the install cost for a…
Next project in the making
Our next project is in the making. We have some initial concept and will meet with the builder next week to discuss some preliminary to check out ideas, workability and general design.
What would our homes look like if designed around how we use them?
It is actually a good question. How do we use our available space and if not used on a daily basis, could we do without? How eay would it be and would we then have to change some of our other areas to compensate for…
Generation Zero questions Auckland Council’s sign-off for greenfield land in Helensville
Generation Zero gained confidential minutes obtained through a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request to show how the council’s governing body signed off the release of greenfield land in Helensville south on May 1 against the official advice of the Housing Project Office.