Category: Society
-
117: Greenbuild 2015
Update: Registrations now open! If you’re into sustainable building, Greenbuild is the conference to be at. Greenbuild is the largest conference and expo dedicated to green building and is the main annual event for the USGBC. Greenbuild is the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building, @Greenbuild Click To Tweet Greenbuild is such…
-
104: Architecture in Harmony with the Earth
Can you imagine meeting someone at university with similar interests, falling in love with them, then starting a practice together offering complementary design services to provide beautiful, functional architecture in harmony with the Earth? Sounds pretty idillic. And it’s what Matthew Swett and Sarah Birger have done to create Taproot Architects. Throw in the fact that they…
-
Start with Why
If you’ve listened to more than a few episodes of the Home Style Green podcast, you’ll notice that I like to start with why? My favourite first question to designers and architects is ‘why do you what you do‘? Simon Sinek – Start with Why Glen Murdoch is a Passive House designer and innovator, based…
-
Self-Help Housing
Self-help housing is not your typical DIY. I continually comment on the poor standard of the New Zealand housing stock, but we can’t ignore the fact that there are people in even worse housing situations. At least 1 billion of them in fact. Canopy Housing Project is a self-help housing organisation based in Leeds, U.K., creating decent homes by renovating derelict…
-
EcoFest 2014
Louisa Chase is the Project Manager for EcoFest 2014. The festival runs from March 15th through to April 13th and has everything from films, to gardening and composting seminars, eco-house tours and even a sustainable fashion show. From Native Plants to ‘Nana Technology’ Kaipatiki started 15 years ago with one person planting some native trees…
-
Home is Where the Heart is
Home is where the heart is. It’s also where our lungs are, where our eyes and ears are, where our whole bodies, and where our minds are. The home is where we are, for 70-90% of the time. Think about that. The average person spends about three quarters of their day, in their house. The…
-
Affordable Housing Policy
I just listened to a podcast recording of a very interesting interview; Kathryn Ryan from Nine to Noon speaking with David Preston, a consulting economist about public policy and affordable housing. David is also the author of one of the chapters in the new book Homes People Can Afford. Check out my interview (Home Style…
-
Homes People Can Afford
We are not building enough homes people can afford. This was the focus of a workshop organised by He Kainga Oranga – The Housing and Health Research Programme, from the University of Otago in mid 2012. Since then, Sarah Bierre, Professsor Philippa Howden-Chapman and Lisa Early have been busy compiling written contributions from a number of…
-
Buildnz Designex
I’m just back from three days at Buildnz Designex, working on the Homestar stand and I’m fairly exhausted after talking to so many interesting designers, architects, builders and loads of product suppliers. Trade shows and expos can be a gamble. They’re expensive to attend as an exhibitor, they take time out of ‘productive work’ and…
-
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,…