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How and why would a successful Building Surveyor, retrain to become a Certified Passive House Designer? Building surveying is interesting work. Building Surveyors are not the people who stand out in fields with theodolites. They’re the people who are trained to diagnose problems with existing buildings. I did it for a while myself and learnt an incredible amount about how buildings fail and why. It’s important work, but it can also start to get you down. A big part of a Building Surveyor’s job is to figure out who is to blame.
After working as a Building Surveyor for over thirteen years, Nick Gaites is now turning his attention to the positive work of designing really awesome buildings that shouldn’t need to the services a surveyor down the track. Nick has become a Certified Passive House Designer.
Building Background
Nick does have a background in building. He gained valuable hands on experience where he grew up in the UK and later here in New Zealand.
Being in Auckland in the aftermath of weathertightness or ‘leaky building’ crisis, Nick trained as a Building Surveyor.
Retraining as a Certified Passive House Designer
In 2018, Nick completed a Passive House Academy New Zealand (PHANZ) course with Dr. Kara Rosemeier. He nervously sat the exam and was pleasantly surprised to pass.
Listening to Nick makes me nervous about sitting the Passive House Certified Designer course myself. I’m scheduled to do it later this year!
Barefoot Architecture
Nick is in the process of establishing a new brand along side Reveal. Barefoot Architecture will offer Passive House design and consulting services. Stay tuned for updates!
Weathertightness (‘Leaky Building’) Crisis in New Zealand
For more on the history and scary statistics of the weathertightness issues that arose in New Zealand, see this 2011 Department of Building and Housing summary. PWC also released a report in 2009 estimating the cost of the weathertightness (‘leaky building’) issue.
Become a Passive House Professional
If you’re interested to becoming a Passive House professional, check out:
- PHANZ in New Zealand
- Australian Passive House Assocation
- Internationally, the Passive House Institute
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