DESIGN SUPERHOME DESIGN GUIDE

WHY A SUPERHOME APPROACH?‍
• Benefits... Health... Power Bills... Comfort... Resale Value... Carbon...
• Why the Building Code is not good enough
• Better ways of doing things – not how we’ve always done it in the past

GETTING STARTED... YOUR NEEDS & PRIORITIES
• Design discussions
• The right team

FLEXIBILITY
• Base, Better, Best – what works for your budget, your priorities, your site
• Focus on the fundamentals from the start
• How big is big enough?

A LONG-TERM INVESTMENT
• Affordability over the life of the home
• Upfront prices VS ongoing long-term operating costs

SMART DESIGN FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE
• What you need to think about up front
• No compromise on liveability or style
‍

BASE, BETTER, BEST

Download a two-page, quick reference, Superhome Certification Guide!
‍
The Superhome Certification Guide sets out common Superhome strategies and principles which can be considered when making design decisions. The certification guide is laid out to communicate which strategies are considered base, better or best. The overall outcome of a Superhome will depend on the climate, which systems and strategies are incorporated, how these interrelate and how optimised the design is for its site and location.

Why a Superhome Approach?

Better designed homes utilising state-of-the-art methods and materials
Learn about the innovative techniques and technologies available now to future proof your home
Better health and wellbeing, year-round comfort, quality of life
Higher efficiency, lower operational costs, reduced carbon footprint

Candice Smith, Kingspan Thermakraft:
“There are better ways to build that aren’t necessarily hugely more expensive.”

Peter Davis, AD Architecture:
“Clients and people in the trade understand that it’s important to do things better now.”

Getting started – your needs and priorities

Design discussions – it’s essential to sort out what you want and need
Each of us is unique – every family has their own priorities
There are all kinds of ways to achieve what you want and need
Options, flexibility, choices that are right for you

Suzanne Schade, Architecta:
“Who lives in that house, what is the lifestyle of my clients, what are their needs?”

Julie Villard, Christchurch City Council:
“Homeowners sometimes spend more time choosing their new car than their house design.”

Flexibility and Choice

Each of us is unique – every family has their own priorities
There are all kinds of ways to achieve what you want and need
Options, flexibility, choices that are right for you

Hanshu Li, Warmth NZ:
“It’s not about costing more money, it’s about how to think smarter, how to spend the money in the right place when you’re building a home.”

Duncan Firth, Solarei:
“There's always different ways of doing things and that's relative to the person, site orientation and budget.”

Fundamentals

Fundamentals to get right from the start
Focus on the fundamentals – what you need for a Superhome...
...Then you can upgrade in different areas depending on your priorities and your budget

Susanne Schade, Architecta:
“There are minimum things you should do that are not negotiable.”

Marcus South, Moisture Master:
“We can pick and choose but there are some fundamentals that are really critical.”

Affordability

Investing in quality and efficiency
Focus on operational performance
The elegant tapware can come later on

Martin Ball:
“Everyone's borrowed some money and need to make some decisions – do I get the fancy taps or the better windows?”

Guy Gillespie, Character Homes:
“A need to think outside the square. To value stuff that's a bit different from before.”

What You Need At The Outset

What you need to make sure of right up front – key things to factor in from the start
It will often be something you don’t see – what’s behind the walls or under the floor
Get the basic elements in place – things that will be difficult or costly to change later on

Hanshu Li, Warmth NZ:
“The things you can't change later. The fundamental parts of the home that need to be decided from the get go.”

Andrew Krupa, Koffman European Windows:
“Once the windows are installed within the building frame – it's really hard to change later.”

How Big Is Big Enough?

Understanding the space you really need and the ongoing operational costs
The operations costs of the house are often overlooked

Peter Davis, AD Architecture:
“Why are we building a four bedroom home? What are those rooms going to be used for? Have one spare room and make it a universal room.”

Andrew Krupa, Koffman European Windows:
“Make it slightly smaller. Save the $3000-$4000 per square metre and spend on quality.”

A Long-Term Investment

Affordability over the life of the home
Upfront investment saving on ongoing long-term operating costs
Lower power bills, free from mould and condensation, steady comfortable temperatures, so much better health and wellbeing

Peter Davis, AD Architecture:
“We can prove to them that the capital cost they make on that is going to an immediate return on the energy efficiency and health of their house.”

Dave Gunter, Coastal Designs:
“Once you’ve built a house with better insulation, better windows, the heating demand for that house is going to be alot less, so it’s going to save the client alot more money in reduced energy bills.”

CREATING BETTER & HEALTHIER HOMES
“Our end goal is creating better healthier homes for people to live in – lots of different solutions and products available for people to learn.”

Dan Saunders: Director, Dan Saunders Construction and Director, Ecopanel

AMAZING... AFFORDABLE... NON SCARY!
“Making people aware that you don’t have to build big giant cold leaky boxes... you can make your design amazing, you can make it affordable, and you can make it for future generations to live in your house – and it’s not too scary to do.”

Jeff Fitness: Managing Director, SealCo Waterproofing Systems

BETTER WAYS TO BUILD THAN WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST
“People should be talking about how we can build better and what materials are available, instead of, ‘that’s how we’ve always done it and that’s what we know and that’s what we’re going to continue to do’, when there are better pathways... that aren’t hugely more expensive.”

Candice Smith: National Specification Manager, Kingspan Thermakraft

KEEP CALM
“From a design point of view there are opportunities where we can give clients so much more for very little effort. Dealing with tactile, visual, calm, noise – what can we do through the built environment that actually brings calm?”

Tony Biesiek: Director/Architectural Designer, Imagine Architecture

KNOW WHAT'S IMPORTANT
“Talking with home owners starting their build, they don’t quite know what’s important. We recommend talking to Superhome to guide them through the journey of design.”

Hanshu Li: Managing Director, Warmthnz

YOUR CAR OVER YOUR HOME?
“Home owners spend less time thinking about the layout of their house than the time they will spend on choosing a new car. Half of your life is going to be spent at home, so it's very important to make sure the house you design is fit for you, to set up yourself for a better future.”

Julie Villard: Architect and Eco-Design Advisor, Christchurch City Council

THEY THOUGHT I WAS NUTS!
“Builders thought I was nuts. I had to go through about five different sets of tradespeople to get people that actually understood what I was doing and what I wanted to do – that was back in 2002 – and within 5 or 6 years that house wasn’t ridiculous any more, it was what people were looking for.”

Peter Davis: Director, AD Architecture

TOO MUCH TECHNICAL DATA?
“Innovation, rather than cold data – looking at the ‘feeling’ of the house. There's a danger of too much technical data, people get overwhelmed. People just want to know, am I going to be warm? is it going to save me money on energy bills?”

Darren Ballantine: Key Account & Business Development Manager, Metro Glass

‘FORWARD THINKING
‍“It’s a lot more difficult AND costly to put a ventilation system (and various services) in further down the line where it hasn’t been designed for up front.”

Marcus South: Regional Manager, Moisture Master

DEVELOP THE DIFFERENCES
“Different sites, different orientation, different wishes. What needs to be covered by the house – conversation about initial design idea, how we develop that into a new home”

Susanne Schade: Architectural Designer and Director, Architecta

‘TAPPING’ YOUR PRIORITIES
“People have to make decisions. Do I get the fancy tap? Or do I get the better windows?”

Martin Ball: Director, NK Windows

DESIGN FLEXIBILTY, DESIGN AFFORDABILITY
‍“Base... Better... Best ! The flexibility and affordability goes to your designer, they are critical getting this right.”

Harry Puttock: Senior Architectural Manager, Sto NZ

MINIMAL OPERATING COSTS
‍“Love the house, but have you thought about how much it costs to operate on a weekly / monthly basis? If a house is cheaper to operate, especially as you’re going into your retirement years, and not you're paying ANYTHING per month... you’re on to a winner”

Andrew Kitson: Managing Director, SolarCorp Ltd

A WARM & HEALTHY HOUSE... ABOVE THE STANDARD!
‍“A lot of builders don’t understand the science behind why you’d make something more airtight or why you put more insulation in. If you just do it to the standard, you’re going to have a cold mouldy house – whereas if we put a bit more insulation in, put some ventilation in, you get a warm healthy house”

Dave Gunter: Director, Coastal Designs