I'm always interested in the perceptions of architects and builders who have been trained or have experienced living in Europe and then come to the Southern Hemisphere. Their reaction to typical houses in New Zealand and Australia usually involves a level of disbelief. A common sentiment is that they've never been colder, despite this being a milder climate.

Joachim Herrmann developed an interest in building biology while working as a teacher. As a trained biologist, he describes the science of life as "endlessly fascinating". We discuss the 25 principles of Building Biology and how they contribute to creating healthy places to live.

Robert Whitehouse wants to build houses that work the way they should, and he's thinking about how to make them affordable for everyone.

The uPVC window market is relatively small in Australia right now, but it's growing fast. I caught up with Kathrin Sender, Managing Director at Integra Windows recently to find out what's so good about uPVC windows and doors.

Ian Chamberlain learnt his craft as a cabinet maker and joiner in the UK. Nearly 40 years on, he's now crafting beautiful and high performing homes in Taupo, New Zealand.

What are the most important things to ensure you get the comfortable, energy-efficient home you deserve and can afford?

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Music attribution: Carefree by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3476-carefree License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Guy Shaw of Energy Architecture originally trained in Wellington, New Zealand. But it was his experience working as an Architect in the UK that introduced him to more sustainable design and lead him to become a Certified Passive House Designer.

Upon returning to New Zealand in 2013 he set up his own practice, Energy Architecture. Since then he has focussed on Passive House design and has become an expert on working with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs).

Theory and Practice

During his initial training, Guy thought New Zealand was pretty sustainable. He learnt a bit of building science, as required by most architects at the time, but it wasn't what we'd probably call building science today.

During his time working in England, Guy was more or less immersed in BREEAM and was then introduced to Passive House. This experience put New Zealand practice at the time, into perspective.

Designing and Modelling

Guy credits having some good mentors in the UK, as well as having some good projects to work on, for his knowledge of Passive House modelling. He was able to learn to model using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) while on the job.

He explains that designing and modelling go hand-in-hand. It's a smoother process to design with some key concepts right from the start, rather than being given a design and asked to model it.

"Once you've been doing Passive House projects for a while, it becomes intuitive," says Guy, "... you understand the implications of various design decisions...". He still checks all his designs in PHPP, but Guy says that nowadays, he's really just double-checking the performance assumptions that he's made along the way.

[Tweet ""Once you've been doing Passive House projects for a while, it becomes intuitive." Guy Shaw, @EnergyArchNZ"]

Voice your Values

I asked Guy about how other designers can attract clients who want to go down the Passive House route, or something similar. With Energy Architecture, he's been very clear from the start about what he stands for. And he wasn't afraid to voice these values. If someone is looking for cheap and 'just-to-code', they're probably not going to seek out a practice like Energy Architecture.

Guy has received positive feedback from being very clear about what he stands for. And it seems his clients tend to self-select. He's only had to turn away one job to date.

While he does acknowledge that it may be more challenging for an existing practice to change tack, Guy says that every client relationship starts by explaining what your values are.

Get Inspired

Energy Architecture is based in Wellington and specialises in Passive House design with leading expertise in designing for SIP construction. Check out Guy's stunning work on their website.

Energy Architecture is based in Wellington and specialises in Passive House design with leading expertise in designing for SIP construction. Find out more, and contact Guy Shaw via their website.

Enduro Builders is quickly becoming one of the leading builders of high performance and sustainable homes in Australia. I met up with Jackson while he was nearing completion of another stunning home in the Adelaide Hills during a trip in late 2019.

In this chat, we discussed how Jackson got into building in the first place and how Enduro Builders is helping to lead an important change in the Australian residential building market.

Ben Ingledew has a background in teaching, but following the Canterbury Earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, he took a new path which eventually lead to Livewel Construction.

Livewel Construction focusses on energy-efficient, comfortable homes and renovations. Ben in Certified Passive House Tradesperson and a member of the Superhome Movement.

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 Stewart learnt computer-aided design (CAD) while working as a receptionist for New Zealand sailor Digby Taylor. With this valuable skill, Dyann soon found herself working as a junior designer for Nulook. From Nulook, she worked briefly with Fletcher Aluminium as a Technical Advisor, and then on to Fairview where she eventually become Group Technical Manager.

She is now the Business Development Manager at OMEGA Windows and Doors where she's already helped the company achieve the significant accreditation of becoming the first Red List Free aluminium joinery supplier in New Zealand.