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Category: Sustainability

  • Housing Affordability

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    Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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    I worry about the seemingly constant reference to greenfield development and opening up current city limits, in the debate over housing affordability. Another article just today concluded with that sentiment. And greenfield development seemed to be the foregone conclusion even at the outset of the Productivity Commission report last year. What are the other solutions?…

  • 16 That’s Not Rubbish!

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    Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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    I have a thing about ‘rubbish’. I guess I have a thing about a lot of things that don’t really makes sense in our modern lives, but let’s not get started on all that. A presenter at the recent Auckland Home Show summed it up well when she said that no organic material should ever…

  • Episode 12: Wrap up of the NZGBC Master Classes

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    Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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    LED Lighting, ventilation, construction waste management (and how to save a bucket load instantly on construction costs) and thermal modeling using 3D simulation software, are just some of the topics covered in day 2 of the NZGBC event held in June 2012. This is the second and final part of my Skype conversation with Verney…

  • Why there’s now no excuse for not doing energy analysis

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    Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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    How much will this house cost…to run? There’s now no excuse for not getting a good energy analysis done on your house, before it’s even built. That is, if you or your designer is an ArchiCAD user. Energy Evaluation From Monday July 16th, version 16 of ArchiCAD will be available and one very exciting new…

  • Summit Summary

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    Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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    On June 27th 2012, the New Zealand Green Building Council held the inaugural Sustainable Housing Summit at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland. Last week I caught up with Verney Ryan via Skype to discuss the highlights. For more information, check out NZGBC where you can now find pdf downloads of most of the presentations. Some of…

  • 10: Ecobob

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    Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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    UPDATE: Ecobob has a whole new look and some great new features. Check out my recent interview with new owner, Kristy Hoare. I was privileged to meet Carlin Archer a few years ago in Christchurch. Back then, Carlin wanted to build an ‘eco’ house. But he wasn’t sure how and he was a bit confused…

  • Episode 9: Down to Earth Real Estate

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    Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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    Last week I had the chance to catch up with Barb Cooper from Down to Earth Real Estate. Barb is a trained Ecobroker and also a Homestar Homecoach. She’s also a very active member of her own community, helping to organise events and publish the Paremoremo newsletter. We talked about why some real estate agents get…

  • Free Solar

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    Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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    I’m fortunate to be working with an intern from Canada at the moment. As well as being an enthusiastic workers, she’s got some great ideas and insights into the better ways of doing things. I always find it interesting to hear stories, especially success stories from other parts of the world. And here’s a great…

  • Where’s the wave?

    Where’s the wave?

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    Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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    There’s a lot of talk now about ‘the green wave’. But I’ve got a lot of questions about timing. Did the wave already come back in the 70s, did we have a ‘re-awaking’ around the turn of the century, or is there a growing peak of awareness building momentum and about to start crashing down…