It is important to prioritise the design. With energy efficient, healthy homes, sometimes the technical considerations have the potential to override or adversely impact the other functional and aesthetic aspects of quality architecture. Good design requires a balancing act of the various important attributes which influence overall liveability. The vibe is important and includes the atmosphere and quality of light throughout the day. Also consider the flow and spatial configuration, and how to move through the home safely and easily. However, each site has individual requirements in the same way that each homeowner has an individual design brief. Well thought out design takes all of these aspects into account and can be roughly broken down into the following areas which are covered in this guide: Site & Location, Size & Footprint, and Universal Design.

 

Healthy design requires sound preparation and assembling a team that is prepared to take onboard the homeowner’s needs and deliver the requirements and operations of the design process to meet project objectives.

 

There is an important first step before the design concept, which is establishing that the homeowner is fully informed about why we need healthy homes and the basic principles required to achieve this. It is essential to understand what the homeowner is trying to achieve with their project before jumping into the design concept.

 

Healthy Homes as a whole system

 

One of the most important takeaway from this guide is seeing the design of a building as a whole system. One in which there are a collection of systems that interact. A high-performance building displays whole systems thinking.

 

A Super-system is a top-level collection of sub systems (very much like an ecological system). It is in the relationship between the many parts, the potential of healthy home design can be realised. Systems thinking yields successful systems.

 

Normally when one thinks of a system, they refer to mechanical systems. Such as heating, ventilation or solar systems etc. A high-performance building enclosure should also be considered as a collection of components and systems working together (foundation, wall, window, ventilation etc).

 

There are many examples of integrated systems thinking:

 

● The relationship between the ground and the foundations.

 

● The relationship between solar PV and storage of thermal energy in the hot water system and it optimal control with a timer.

 

● As the insulation levels go up, so must the quality of the air barrier system to avoid condensation.

 

● A well designed ventilation system must be tuned to the design and layout of the home as well as the needs of the occupants to provide health safety comfort and durability.

 

 

Design Stages

 

The Auckland Design Manual provides some very useful information for the process of developing a new home. http://www.aucklanddesignmanual.co.nz/resources/developing-new-homes

 

The following design stages should be followed when considering a Healthy Home:

 

1. Prepare – Begin to understand the journey that you are about to embark on. What are your options, what is your budget to achieve your vision?

 

2. Plan – The aim of this stage is to choose a procurement option that will achieve your vision and to begin talking to professionals.

 

3. Engage a Design Team – This is not just the architect, architectural designer, it is likely to also involve town planners, engineers, suppliers and builders. The engagement of these professionals can be staged to suit your needs.

 

4. Design Brief – The Design Brief is a document that outlines what you want from your house, it should set objectives and measurable targets around energy, water, comfort health and lifecycle costs. It confirms the adequacy of the budget to meet the aspirations of the project.

 

5. Buy Land – Ideally, land should be bought after you have defined your needs and requirements in the Design Brief. It is a good idea to consult a designer on site suitability prior to purchase.

 

6. Concept and Preliminary Design – This is the first time your ideas are translated into drawings and then refined to suit planning requirements and site constraints. Early engagement of an engineer and builder will assist with preliminary design refinement and the first indication of cost can be ascertained at this stage.

 

7. Developed and Detailed Design – During this stage, the preliminary design will be developed into documentation that enables the consent and construction of the house. A lot of decisions will need to be made.

 

8. Construction – Where the dream, the planning and the design comes to life.

 

9. Handover and Post completion – This marks the end of the construction project and the beginning of the building’s long life as a healthy family home.

 

Selecting the Right Design Team

 

Selecting the right design team for you and your type of project is the most crucial early decision for any new home building project. Collaboration is vital to achieve a successful outcome. Early client engagement with the design professionals and builder is vital. This is the recommend process to achieve a Healthy Home, on time and on budget.

 

Selecting a Designer

 

The right architect or designer will have by far the most important influence on your project, but how do you choose the right one? A super place to start is the Superhome website https://www.superhome.co.nz/who/architects-and-designers/

 

Below are 6 key questions to ensure you get the right people for the job:

 

1. Do you get along and do you feel you can work well together?

This is a great place to start. You’ll be spending a lot of time working together so need to get on well enough to be able to feel comfortable and confident you can approach them about anything. A great working relationship is the vital ingredient for project success. Will they listen to you? Do they communicate well and share similar values, life outlook and ethos? Remember, this is the person you’re trusting to design your healthy home.

 

2. What do others say? Ask for references or a list of clients to talk to. Do you like what you hear? Are past clients super happy with their homes? The other obvious thing is to check their profile, reputation, any awards. This could be via google, websites or LinkedIn etc.

 

3. What’s the look and feel you are aiming for? Do some of their past projects appeal aesthetically? Can they show you similar projects that are relevant to your project type and do you like the look and feel and design sense of some of their projects? Bear in mind that all projects are different and sometimes the look is driven by the client’s taste and their budgets etc.

 

4. What are the fees? Almost everyone is working to a tight budget, however cheapest isn’t the best option for something as important as choosing who will create the design for your healthy home. A little more spent on the best designer will be insignificant in the context of the overall project cost and the best designer will add huge value beyond your expectation and save you money overall. It’s important that you are comparing apples with apples in terms of the extent of services offered, complexity and the project budget.

 

5. What experience do they have? Have they got the right level of experience and expertise that’s required and will they bring enthusiasm and energy to your project? Ask what experience they have with the type of projects relevant to yours. How many of these projects have they done and how long have they been doing these types of projects and do they consistently achieve exceptional results? Do they understand the key principles of a healthy home and have a track record with measured examples of delivering healthy, energy efficient, sustainable homes? Fully insulated foundations, recessed super windows, airtightness, super-insulation, the right energy recovery ventilation etc.

 

6. Do they have professional indemnity insurance that provides cover in case something goes wrong? Are they members of the right industry organisations? i.e. ADNZ or NZIA and Superhome Movement or Passive House Institute.

 

Selecting an Engineer

 

Ideally a Healthy Home Engineer should be a participant of either the Superhome Movement or a Passive House proponent. They must work well as part of a team and be sympathetic to the end goal and the needs of the client and other disciplines. They must understand that your foundation will be fully insulated, that thermal bridging must be limited and therefore it may be preferable that the structure is to be designed in timber if possible with any steel members used not penetrating the thermal envelope. They must understand and help educate you in the trade-offs between energy efficiency and structural resilience.

 

Selecting a Builder

 

Selecting a competent builder to build your new home is very important. Making a wrong decision can cause a lot of heartache and worry that you don’t need when building a new house. Building a house should be an enjoyable experience. A super place to start is looking at the Superhome builders on https://www.superhome.co.nz/who/builders/

 

There are several important things that you should consider about the choice of the builder:

 

● Honesty

 

● Reliability

 

● Workmanship

 

● Quality Control

 

● Experience

 

● Sticks to your budget

 

● Past Customer Satisfaction

 

● The right attitude

 

● Passionate about Super Homes and building above code

 

Having a builder that works with you rather than leaving you feeling excluded from the build is also very important. When selecting your builder there are several ways to get recommendations.

 

Ask your designer or architect who they would recommend, ask your friends or work colleagues. There is also nothing better than having a builder recommended by others who have worked with them. Ask what type of project it was too. A builder that is competent at building a code minimum home could still struggle to build an airtight energy efficient Healthy Home if they don’t believe in what they are doing.

 

Once you have several recommendations, it’s a good idea to meet with the potential builder in person. Ask them to give you the phone numbers of their past clients, and give them a call. Don’t be afraid to ask all of those questions that you are thinking about (some ideas above). You want your builder to be reliable, turn up when they say they will and keep to the budget. Ask the builder if they are happy to show you a breakdown of the pricing. If they have nothing to hide, they shouldn’t have a problem with this.

 

Remember the cheapest price might not always indicate the best builder to choose. Your designer or architect should be able to help give guidance with this when reviewing pricing.

 

If possible, it’s always a great idea to try and get the builder involved as soon as possible, the earlier the better. If they are passionate about building above code homes it can help streamline the design process having their input during this phase.

 

Make sure you are shown the builder's full disclosure document that they are bound by law to show you before signing a building contract. This will advise if your builder has ever been bankrupt etc. Ideally, have your lawyer review your building contract, before signing.

 

ECO Design Advisors

 

Eco Design Advisors help improve the comfort and health of New Zealanders by providing free independent advice on home performance.

 

Working for local councils, their advice can range from new builds and significant renovations to behaviour change and simple retrofits. The service can take the form of a conversation around a table or a comprehensive on-site home assessment.

 

EDAs work closely with EECA, BRANZ, MBIE, and Consumer NZ to provide the best available information to homeowners, landlords, tenants and the building industry.

 

This award-winning service was established in 2006 and is a free service offered by the following councils:

 

Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, Lower Hutt, Palmerston North, and Auckland.

 

For more information; https://www.ecodesignadvisor.org.nz/

 

If you live outside of these regions, lobby your Council to fund an Eco Design Advisor position. There’s published research to show they have an excellent rate of return on investment.

 

Recommended Healthy Home guidelines for Design are set out in the table below: