Stuff’s ranking of this season’s homes featured on Grand Designs is of course highly subjective and arguably not particularly useful. Sustainability did feature as a criteria but frankly was a bit token. Rainwater tanks are hardly an optional sustainable upgrade when town water supply isn’t available.
Predictably, our team puts the Watterson Residence in Featherston in the #1 spot. We can announce its “certified Passive House” plaque is now on its way to architect, Passive House designer and owner Josefine Watterson.
And I’ll say this about the controversial build in Tapu, on the Coromandel peninsula. I’m an engineer right? Not an architect. So I look at that build and wholeheartedly appreciate the stunning engineering that went into it. My team did some consulting over the years on this build, including a full energy model, and I can tell you, its thermal performance will be almost as good as the Wattersons’ home.