This building is pretty incredible. Most Passive House buildings can change the form (the external shape) and use less glass to meet the performance standard, but that wasn’t an option for this building: it has to look a certain way to meet the car franchise requirements. It’s also built in a cold climate, with winters dropping down to -11C. The …
21 March 2019 Scoop: Coastal Home for Sale Provides the Best in Energy Efficiency
“A Beachlands house, the first Passive House Plus in New Zealand to be awarded a 10 Homestar built rating, has been put on the market for sale.Built in 2014, the four-bedroom/three living room modern house at 23 Reliance Crescent was designed to be one of the most energy-efficient in New Zealand.The two-storey, 270 square metre home on a level 860 …
27 February 2019 Scoop: New healthy homes standards are just the beginning
We have a lot of homes to fix in NZ and Sustainability Trust is estimating that “100,000 rentals will be exempt from installing insulation due to the cost of accessing the ceiling or underfloor.” I’m not sure they see the health care costs impacts of cold homes. It will pay for a lot of insulation. We look forward to working …
2019 October 26 Passive House + Sustainable Building: Passive Sheltered Scheme 500 Years in the Making
Beautiful English Passive House social housing apartments for the elderly: “18 apartments split into three blocks totalling 1057 sqm treated floor area. The larger block is comprised of 14 one-bedroom apartments at 55 sqm each, while the two identical smaller buildings each contain two two-bed apartments at 68 sqm each.” Unlike most project descriptions, this article has a refreshingly frank …
2016 August 1 Prefab NZ: Unipod Open Source Bathroom Pod

This is one way to save a considerable fraction of build costs if it is done at scale. Of course, I’d argue for putting those savings into a better building envelope designed/built to Certified Passive House levels. Content by Prefab NZ.