Author: Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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Q & A
Something a little different this week. I’ve had some excellent questions sitting in my inbox for a while and I thought that many could benefit from them. Here’s just a sample. Got similar questions? Please get in touch and if I can’t help, we’ll put the word out to find someone who can. Got a…
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Design and Construction Project Management
Cesar Abeid is a father, an engineer, a podcaster, mentor and a soon-to-be author. He’s also an expert in design and construction project management. Content Marketing & Construction I was washing the dishes in my kitchen one winter evening, about 18 months ago. I’d given up on live radio years prior and was searching for some fresh podcasts…
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How big should eaves be?
Eaves are the classic case of form following function. In this podcast I lay out my three key reasons for having them, but a key question is, ‘how big should eaves be?’ Why have eaves? Radiation – They help shade you and your home from the summer sun, while still allowing light and warmth in…
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Resilience vs Sustainability
What’s the difference between resilience and sustainability? Is there a place for both? Is it even really that important? The utter darkness while driving around east Auckland early last Sunday reminded me of the similarly eerie calm we experienced while driving around Christchurch on February 23rd, 2011. A 21st century city without electricity is a…
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Map Wrap Gaps Taps and Apps
Over the last few years, I’ve developed this model for good home design: Map, wrap, gaps, taps and apps. A model for good home design: Map, wrap, gaps, taps and apps. Click To Tweet Map Map was an obvious (albeit later) addition to the original model. Good design starts with location. This is about where you…
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Leaky Buildings 2.0
Most of us are familiar with leaky buildings – the perfect storm of poor design, poor cladding systems and poor workmanship, culminating in allowing rain to get in. Now we’ve moved on and have cavities, more stringent weather-tightness checks and hopefully we like eaves again. So what’s leaky buildings 2.0? If we’ve dealt to the…
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How to get more of the right clients
I’m always on the lookout for building professionals who are focussed on sustainable design and construction, so when Ian McHugh popped up in my LinkedIn and Twitter networks, I was keen to get in touch. Ian’s specialisations include Code for Sustainable Homes Assessor, and ‘Eco-Refurbisher’. I want to know how good designers and architects can do more…
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Earth Building
When she was 16, Verena Maeder came to New Zealand from Switzerland for a working holiday and fell in love, but not with a kiwi. Verena fell in love with earth buildings. So much so, that she returned to Switzerland and started training as an architect with the specific goal of learning how to design…
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Concrete Slab Edge Insulation Update
Updated: See my updated list at the end of this article for currently available products for slab edge, perimeter insulation. BRANZ recently released their fifth edition of the House Insulation Guide. Changes in this edition include ‘waffle pod’ concrete slab systems, and a concrete slab edge insulation update. I discussed the importance of insulating the edge of…