Author: Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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Is Passivhaus Relevant in New Zealand?
Is it ‘Passive House’ or ‘Passivhaus’? That was one question I put to expat Kiwi, architect and Passive House expert, Elrond Burrell. But the main question should be, is Passivhaus even relevant in New Zealand? Elrond Burrell was back visiting New Zealand recently and took the opportunity to conduct a couple of seminars on…
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House Planning Help
I first came across Ben’s show when I was browsing for quality podcasts about sustainability and buildings. I’ve been surprised with the relative few results from variations of this search in iTunes and was grateful to stumble across House Planning Help. In particular I first found Ben’s slightly different episode all about content marketing in…
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Chip In for Pollinate Energy
A couple of weeks ago, I shared my interview with Monique Alfris from Pollinate Energy. This inspiring organisation has teamed up with another inspiring organisation, Chip In, to start a campaign where you can contribute as little as $5 to help their cause. That’s about the price of an incandescent light bulb! So go on,…
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Is Christchurch in the process of making a big mistake?
Is Christchurch in the process of making a big mistake? Surely not intentionally. But the front page of the Press last Friday did look a lot like urban sprawl. Is there another way to describe 40,000 homes being built outside the current city boundary? This is the vision of the Land Use Recovery Plan. Affectionately known…
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Auckland Unitary Plan
I’m lucky to be working in a building just walking distance from the Viaduct and Wynyard Quarter in Auckland. Today in particular, this meant I could stroll down past the million dollar boats to attend the release of the Auckland Unitary Plan. In short, this plan is the plan to unite all plans. It’s plan…
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Being a Green Architect
What does it mean to be a ‘green architect’? Sian Taylor trained to be an architect in Cardiff, Wales. When she arrived here in New Zealand, like many others who have experienced homes in colder climates, Sian was pretty appalled at the state of New Zealand houses. Since then Sian has gained experience working in…
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Rebuild and Renovate Christchurch
Amanda Magnus is the Exhibition Director for Exhibitions & Events New Zealand, and is responsible for organising the inaugural Rebuild and Renovate Christchurch Home Show. http://www.canterburyhomeshow.co.nz/index.htm The show, which is on from Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th March at CBS Canterbury Arena, is a response to huge demand in Christchurch for information about building a…
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How to Insulate a Concrete Floor Slab
UPDATE: Check out this article for a list of slab edge insulation solutions, and episode 125 for my interview with Henry Edney of MAXRaft. The first thing to consider when looking into different types of concrete floors is why it’s so important to insulate the floor slab. To do this, we need to consider where…
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Passive Solar House in Riverhead
Ingo Ratsdorf is a registered architect now with Fat Parrot Architecture based in Auckland. He has also designed and built a passive solar house in Riverhead, Auckland. I caught up with Ingo this week and he shared his story. Having grown up and been trained in Germany, Ingo is very aware of how poorly most New…
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How to build efficient houses without extra cost
How do you build efficient code 4 houses for the cost of code 3. And how do you get industry to solve the problem themselves? Richard Buchanan is an Associate Director at BRE and Founder of Green Building Consultancy Ltd. I met Richard recently inside a LinkedIn group during a discussion about housing affordability. It…