Category: Industry
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Build Aotearoa
Kia ora whanau. As I draft this episode, there’s a chorus of cicadas outside my window. The sun is shining and there’s a faint breath of a breeze. It seems calm where I live, here in a relatively leafy part of Tāmaki Makaurau. But all is not calm everywhere in Aotearoa today, Waitangi Day 2024.…
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252: Let’s Change the Building Code
The Ministry of Innovation Building and Employment (MBIE) has released its consultation document for the 2021 proposed changes to the New Zealand Building Code. This represents a great opportunity to positively impact the future of building standards. But does it go far enough?
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241: What’s so Good about Wood?
John Stulen lives is the heart of New Zealand’s forestry industry in Rotorua. He originally studied Mechanical Engineering at McMaster University, Ontario and has been involved in the wood industry almost ever since. Through events and digital platforms such as WoodWorks, John is particularly interested in promoting innovative timber solutions. From multi-residential, through to commercial…
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208: OMEGA Windows and Doors
Aluminium is stable, completely recyclable and relatively abundant, but it’s also a great conductor of heat. It’s the dominant choice of material for window and door frames in New Zealand, accounting for 90% of the market. But how can you make it a more sustainable choice? OMEGA Windows and Doors offers some good options. Dyann…
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202: Why are architects not learning this?
In 2001, Lindsay Schack and Lindsey Love both started a Masters of Architecture at Montana State University. A decade on, the two friends created Love | Schack Architecture together, from their respective home towns in Montana and Idaho. Love | Schack Architecture combines Lindsey Love’s experience and passion for natural materials, with Lindsay Schack’s Certification…
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10 Things I learnt from a doTerra Conference about How to Change the Building Industry
What do a couple of thousand, mostly women, attendees at a two day conference on the Goal Coast, have to do with making healthier places to live? I wasn’t really expecting anything at all. I’m a tag-along. A conference partner of Natalie who is attending a doTerra Leadership Convention. I’m here because Natalie suggested a…
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198 The International Passive House Association
Within the Passive House Institute in Darmstadt, there is a small group of people dedicated to coordinating the efforts of over 20 Passive House Affiliate organisations around the world. This group is the the International Passive House Association, iPHA. Giorgia Tzar is the head of International Communications at the International Passive House Assocation. I sat…
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193: High Quality Building Products, Made in China.
Judging by it’s scale, it’s hard to believe that China International Windoor City is a family company. Based in Gaobeidian, the organisation includes the largest window, door and curtain wall exhibition in Asia. Windoor City has a total construction area covering 50 hectares, with a focus on energy saving products. Windoor City facilities produce everything…
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187: Building to Inspire and Nurture
Dolores Davis is part of a building legacy. It began in 1957 with Clarence and Stella Guerrero when Clarence started fixing up homes in Austin Texas. 60 years on, Dolores now leads a design-build company with thirty team members and a strong desire to inspire and nurture. Note: In the podcast episode, I mistakenly introduce…
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184: From Rocket Science to Building Science
Rocket science is so complicated it’s a cliche. But Jason Quinn, New Zealand’s only current Passive House Certifier, considers the science of high performance buildings to be on par, or perhaps even trickier than the science of designing rocket engines. It’s all physics, just applied in a different way. After a first career working for…