Case Studies

This beautiful cedar-clad family home is delighting its owners, a reward after years of heartbreak and trials. Their former Christchurch home was demolished following the earthquakes and the construction of this Passive House on the same site had its challenges. This three-bedroom home is classy on the outside and high-performing on the inside yet some of its most impressive engineering …

Here is a stunning example of how Passive House efficiency can be delivered on a challenging site with multiple constraints, all without compromising design. The home was built for a family of four accustomed to warm, efficient housing in the UK whose cold, damp house in Queenstown had caused health problems. They tasked Architype with designing a home that would …

Ohoka, 2019 This North Canterbury house demonstrates that Passive House performance is not beyond the reach of first home buyers. One of the owners works for a supplier of high-performance building components and well understood the “massive benefits” such a house would provide his young family. His professional experience with multiple Passive House projects also contributed to a very smooth …

Of late Wanaka is a hotbed of Passive House activity. The presence of several experienced Passive House architects in Otago, plus suppliers and tradespeople committed to high-performance building, doubtless contributes. But so does the climate, which is one of the colder inhabited parts of the country. The Tombling house stands in Hawea Flat, where winter temperatures will drop to -5C …

This modern, compact home on a lifestyle block in the Bay of Plenty is delighting its European owners. After a dozen years in typical cold, damp New Zealand houses, it’s a welcome change to wake up to 18 degree temperatures throughout the house, without any heating. They also appreciate the lower humidity established by continuous mechanical ventilation. This project showcases …

The first Certified Passive House Plus in the Bay of Plenty is delighting its owner/builders with the quiet comfort it offers. They’re also delighted with their power bills, which have dropped from $160+/month to about $20. Heating demand and load performance are well below Passive House maximums and no energy for cooling is expected. Timber windows from Thermadura were chosen …

The developer’s environmental and social conscience is driving this project, which is currently in its detailed design phase. The three-storey building houses four units; well-designed, comfortable yet modestly sized between 60-120 m² TFA. It will sit alongside detached family homes in a newer Auckland suburb, an example of the densification urban planners are urgently calling for. The developer is passionate …

From a holiday home to a luxury lodge; this Auckland couple are convinced of the benefits of the Passive House standard. The Georges own the first Passive House certified in the South Island,  George House, and are now working with the same architect again to develop a luxurious 11-room lodge. It will primarily be used for residential coaching clinics for …

This project is now complete and Certified as the first Passive House cohousing project in New Zealand. Project has been renamed from Dunedin Co-housing project and the case study is at Toiora High Street Cohousing.     In 2014, a small group of Dunedin locals came together with a vision to create a different kind of residential development. They wanted …