Sole by name, sole by nature; this Christchurch Passive House was built around the unique vision and values of the clients. The result is an appealing home full of surprises and perfectly suited to the needs of its family. It’s a refreshing point of difference, when so much house design in New Zealand is driven by notions of maximising resale …

Woodford Grace is a remarkable house, in every way. The owners bought a gracious old bungalow written off after the Canterbury earthquakes, won over by the large land area and proximity to the city. They then, with audacious ambition, decided to repair and restore the villa, while adding a modern extension to suit their family of five—and to aim for …

It’s confirmed: New Zealand’s first non-residential building has won PHI-certification. Hutt City Council’s facilities building at Silverstream landfill is a Low Energy Building. The climate (30km north of Wellington) doesn’t present undue difficulties but the small building does face some intrinsic challenges. Its footprint is a simple shape, but the form factor sits at a very high 4.1 due to …

This striking home is perched on a steep lifestyle block above the Kapiti Coast, designed to take in expansive views to the west. On the clear day the ocean views stretch from the South Island to Mt Taranaki. The clients specified Passive House in their brief to their architect. The house’s excellent performance despite less than optimal solar access illustrates …

New Zealand’s newest certified Passive House is the first in Hawkes Bay and it’s doing a great job of promoting high-performance building to homeowners in the region. This handsome three bedroom, two bathroom home plus office was designed by Vlada Acimovic and completed a year ago by eHaus licensee Welch Builders & Construction Ltd. It initially served capably as a …

Building this stunning home presented several challenges, overcome by an experienced Passive House builder who understood what he was working with. As with many projects in Christchurch, ground conditions were difficult and increased costs. Liquefaction risk was not the issue here, rather very rocky conditions and a “big nasty rock” right in the middle of the site. Part of the …

The St Leonards Passive House overcomes the challenges of a difficult site to provide a comfortable and beautiful home for a young family. The house perches on a steep slope overshadowed by hills to the north and west. Its spectacular views of Dunedin harbour lie to the east and south.   Achieving Passive House performance despite these physical constraints highlights …

This story starts with an Auckland family who fell in love with a piece of land in Te Miro, in the Hamilton hinterland. They wanted a warm and comfortable house that would shelter not just their growing family but a third generation too. This 322 m2 building is actually two homes under a single roof. The wife’s father has a …

This two-storey residence in Hawea Flats is an intriguing mixture of modernity and tradition, with an impressive list of accomplishments. It’s New Zealand’s first Certified Passive House Premium building (and only the second in Australasia and 15th world-wide); and it’s the first oak-framed Passive House built in this country. It was designed by one of the country’s most experienced and …