Home Style Green

206: How to Save Time and Money on Green Certification

22 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Green certification of building projects faces multiple challenges; from sourcing appropriate products, documenting and verifying materials, through t...

205: From Zero Energy to Revolve Energy

15 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jo Woods and Shay Brazier have been saving money on power since they moved into their Zero Energy House. At the same time, their home has been drier, ...

204: Making Hardwood Flooring Easy

18 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

John Dupra is changing the way people select and buy hardwood flooring. His story about the creation of Revel Woods offers some valuable ideas about h...

203: modhouse

05 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

John and Nikki decided to put all their energy and attention in the home they've created. John gave up the idea of an office in Auckland and saved sub...

Why aren't architects learning this?

28 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 2001, Lindsay Schack and Lindsey Love both started a Masters of Architecture at Montana State University. A decade on, the two friends created Love...

201: From what went wrong, to designing it right

14 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After working as a Building Surveyor for over thirteen years, Nick Gaites is now turning his attention to the positive work of designing really awesom...

200: How Accurate is AccuRate?

08 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 2003, thermal performance requirements for residential buildings were added to the Building Code of Australia for the first time. The initial perfo...

199: What does a Building Enclosure Engineer do?

30 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There's a new building enclosure consultancy in town. They're called Oculus and they've got a a great philosophy as well as a lot of international exp...

198 The International Passive House Association

20 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Within the Passive House Institute in Darmstadt, there is a small group of people dedicated to coordinating the efforts of over 20 Passive House Affil...

197: Healthiness through Housing

14 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"A lifetime of healthiness achieved through housing" is the mission statement of Phoenix Haus. What would it take to get an operation like this up and...

196: Why are Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) are good idea for building?

05 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

SIPs - Structural Insulated Panels are pretty much what they say they are. Why aren't more designers and builders using this way of building energy ef...

195: Passive House is a Meaningful Applied Physics

22 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jessica Grove-Smith has a Masters degree in Physics from the University of Sussex, UK. She's studied in Australia and Spain, done volunteer work in Af...

194: Ecokit - A Prefabricated Energy Efficient Home

16 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Camilla Novotna always knew she wanted to build her own timber house. It was just a question of when and where. Despite not having a formal architectu...

193: Can High Quality Building Products be Made in China?

08 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

International attention on Gaobeidian is set to increase up to October 2019 when Windoor City along with Passive House Institute China will host the 2...

192: How to reach over 200,000 people with a message about Passive House

01 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After he won the Inaugural Passive House Slam during the Heidelberg Passive House Conference in March this year, I sat down with Marius Şoflete to ta...

191: New Zealand's First Passive House Cohousing Project

18 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The first New Zealand Passive House was completed in 2012. Since then, about 20 more individual private houses have been Certified using the internati...

190: Lessons from Thirty Years of Airtightness Testing

11 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Jennings needed a project for his dissertation on fuel poverty in the UK when he came across some charity work funded by the then 'Greater London...

189: How to Build a Tiny House

03 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Everett Norris always wanted to build his own house. As a boy, he also assumed that he'd own his own house. This sounds simple enough, but the reality...

188: How to have a comfortable home that's also affordable

27 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Paul and Pascale have created Park Homes for people like themselves. They were first time home buyers in the New Zealand market and they wanted someth...

187: Building Homes that Inspire and Nurture

19 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I wanted to have Dolores Davis on the show because she's running a company that values the art, the privilege and the responsibility of building. Here...

186 Where to get beautiful high performance windows

13 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Where do you go to get beautiful, high performance doors and windows, made in New Zealand?

185: What is Airtightness and Why do we Need it?

05 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The term 'airtight' conjures up fears of hermetically sealed boxes. In this episode, I discuss what exactly airtightness is, and why we need it.

184: Rocket Scientist to Building Scientist

15 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jason Quinn used to be a NASA rocket scientist. Now he's New Zealand's one and only Passive House Certifier. He's just published a book summarising th...

183: Living in Your Own Passive House

19 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 2012 Ben Adam-Smith founded House Planning Help to collect and share all the information he started to learn on the way to designing and building h...

182 How to Make High Peformance Homes Mainstream

21 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Rogers thinks we've reached a tipping point where more people are seeking high performance homes and are willing to invest a little extra for a mu...

181: Tomorrow's House Today

14 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Felicity and Marc Bernstein met at architecture school in Germany and have been working together since. During the last twenty years they've worked in...

180: Why adding Insulation can cause moisture problems in buildings

07 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When Prof. Dr. Hartwig Künzel was studying Chemical Engineering, his father was a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute. Hartwig followed in his fath...

180: Why adding Insulation can cause moisture problems in buildings

07 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When Prof. Dr. Hartwig Künzel was studying Chemical Engineering, his father was a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute. Hartwig followed in his fath...

179 Why airtightness is so important for indoor air quality

24 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Terry Brennan literally wrote the book on managing moisture for improved indoor air quality. He is a lead author of a landmark 2013 Environmental Prot...

178 Cutting Edge Craftsmanship

17 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tedd Benson refers to stick framing as pretty basic shelter. It went up almost overnight, but the legacy continues as a 'worse form of building that t...

177: A PR Boost for Sustainable Homes

04 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In Episode 145 I spoke with Dennis Dowling of DCD Construction. On the episode, I talk with Annabelle Numaguchi who has a PR and marketing background....

176: The Enemy of Ugly

29 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bert Sarkinnen has been building homes since he was 16, firstly alongside his Father who was also his teacher and mentor. Along the way Bert fell in l...

175: The Headwaters Living Building Challenge

21 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Headwaters in Glenorchy, just 45 minutes drive from Queenstown is a magical place and now home to another Living Building Challenge project. I cau...

174: Design Housing, not just Houses

14 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Karen Manson likes thinking about and designing housing, not just houses. With over 15 years of international experience, Karen now has her own practi...

173: Using WUFI to Keep Building Dry and Healthy

05 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly all building elements (roofs, walls, floors, window and door joints etc.) will leak at some point. Problems only occur when moisture gets in, a...

172: How to make eco, affordable - the Lotus Eco Village

29 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How do you make eco, affordable? As project manager for the proposed Lotus Eco Village in Paraparaumu near Wellington, Simon Wallace has some good ide...

171: The Baillie Eco-Home

22 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Russell Baillie describes the Baillie Eco-Home as a modern, contemporary house that's green under the skin. It's a two storey, three bedroom home in ...

170: What has Harpal Kler learnt from building and living in a multi-generational Passive House home?

14 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Harpal Kler comes from an accounting background, but during the last four years he's learnt a lot about building and living in a Passive House. Now, h...

169: Passive House Canada

06 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What can we learn down here in the Southern Hemisphere, about the growth and success of Passive House in Canada? CEO of Passive House Canada, Rob Bern...

168: When is it ever good to have a hole in your roof?

21 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week I'm discussing skylights and roof windows. They're great for both light and ventilation, but what should you look out for?

167: Should I buy this house?

27 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A building surveyor is trained to investigate potential issues and provide a prioritised list of maintenance for a building. When looking to buy a pro...

166 How to Create a Good Thermal Envelope

09 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The building code is the worst house you're legally allowed to build, yet it's often treated as the target. In this episode, I walk through some build...

165: Where are NZ Builders making great homes?

02 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

I usually interview designers and builders about what's going on overseas, with a focus on what the New Zealand industry could learn. In this episode,...

164: Nook Low Energy Homes

24 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

I love it when I find new companies that are looking at the design and building process a bit differently and who want to provide healthy, energy effi...

163: What are the layers you need in your wall?

09 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Walls (and roofs and floors) of buildings have become complicated. As we've increased the level of insulation, we've created some new problems, like c...

162: How to retrofit heat recovery and ventilation

01 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When I first saw the LUNOS is didn't really believe it was a true heat recovery ventilation system, so I sought out some answers. Wayne Delport is Sal...

161: A Fitbit for your Home

27 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine having a Fitbit for your home and being able to see, in real time, how it's performing. You could also be notified of any hazards like high le...

160: How do you know if your home is unhealthy?

20 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A first step in making a home healthier is to understand and quantify what might be making it unhealthy. Through her website, Caroline Blazovsky has m...

Why are more people asking for Passive House?

14 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Darryl Sang is one of only a few Certified Passive House Designers in Auckland. We discuss why he went through this gruelling training and why more of...

158: Why we should be watching (and following) China

02 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Why should we be watching China and what does the growth in uptake of Passive House there mean for the rest of us? We also discuss near zero energy re...

157 Sustainable Landscapes with Hitesh Mehta

26 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

I originally contacted Hitesh Mehta to talk about sustainable landscape architecture, but he offers a lot more than that. Hitesh has travelled the wor...

156 Why Passive House with Dr Wolfgang Feist

19 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Wolfgang Feist is attributed as the co-founder of Passive House along with Bo Adamson. Feist, a German physicist collaborated with Adamson from Sweden...

155: Cassettes & CNC Machines. What's the future of Prefab?

11 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It’s tempting to say that Prefab’s time has come, but I don’t think this does justice to prefabricated building. As Pamela Bell has explained pr...

154 Adaptive Architecture

28 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Adaptive architecture and innovative insights from California, with Matthew Baran of Baran Studio Architecture. http://www.baranstudio.com/ http://h...

153 Simple is the New Smart

18 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Dowsett and his team at Sustainable.To are dedicate to creating affordable, healthy and energy efficient homes, because that's what Paul believes...

152: How to choose the best LED Lighting for your home

12 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Remember when the main choice you had for light bulbs was 60 Watts or 100 Watts? Things have progressed a long way since then, and mostly for the bett...

151: Passive House is Here!

29 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

There's so much that could be said about two days of great Passive House presentations in Melbourne, but I've challenged myself to boil it down to one...

150: How to get an energy efficient home in Canterbury

20 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Glenn Harley is a builder of energy efficient homes in Canterbury. After being attracted to the natural, healthy feel of strawbale construction, Glenn...

149 Collective Carpentry

10 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In the town of Invermere, about 3 hours west of Calgary in British Columbia, there's a workshop where high performance, energy efficient homes are con...

148: How to design for your climate

01 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Graham Hunt goes into a lot of detail when researching the local climate that will impact the comfort of a home. Designing for your climate includes a...

147 Who's most influential when building a home?

25 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Who's the most influential person in a real estate development, the architect, the owner, the builder...? What about the developer? Real estate devel...

146: Can you afford an architect?

18 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Angus Crowe believes that you definitely can afford an architect. In fact, you can't afford not to have one. Learning from design homes in the tropic...

145: Passive Energy Homes with Dennis Dowling

11 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Dennis Dowling creates finely crafted, passive energy homes that you’ll love. From energy efficiency and budgeting advice, through to high quality, ...

144: A System for High Performance Homes

01 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Beattie Passive is a complete system for a high performance home. I love the idea of thinking of a house as a system. I also love the idea of making i...

143: Why is foam such a great building material?

14 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Foam is an incredible thermal insulator. For the price and size, it's about the best insulation material you can get. But many people are concerned ab...

142: Bamboo is Sustainable

07 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Bamboo Technologies, LLC (Bamboo Living) design and manufacture structurally certified bamboo homes. Founded in 1995, Bamboo Technologies has produced...

141: Are Passive House and green building relevant in a temperate climate?

30 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

I love Rich Williams' enthusiasm for what he does. Even if you don't live in the temperate climate of San Diego, you can learn a lot about the relevan...

140: Have you seen the new Ecobob?

23 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In episode 10 of Home Style Green, I interview Carlin Archer, the creator of Ecobob. Now Ecobob has a completely fresh new look, and is still going st...

139: Is this the future of green home design?

18 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The terms 'sustainability' and 'eco' are not obvious on Adam Taylor's website. They are there (see if you can find them). But perhaps the future of g...

138 Dr Allison Bailes the Energy Vanguard

10 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Allison Bailes III has used his PhD in physics and background in teaching to educate the world about better buildings. Through his company Energy V...

137 Eco Custom Homes

03 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jeffrey Dinkle brings over two decades of experience in sustainable construction and renovation to his board service at the National Passive House All...

136: Thermal Mass is Not That Useful

27 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Passive House vs Passive Solar with Lloyd Alter Much of this comes down to two design principles which are similar in name and have some overlap in t...

135 How to Create A Life More Sustainable

20 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

PIDCOCK - Architecture and Sustainability is focused on desirable, sustainable architecture. http://homestylegreen.com/135 http://www.pidcock.com.au/

134: Bioregional

15 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sue co-founded Bioregional in 1994 because she wanted to develop and implement more sustainable ways of producing the products we need and of living o...

133: Greenbuilders, Inc.

06 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Polly Bart loves to get muddy. Despite having an undergraduate degree in architecture and a doctorate in city planning, Poly is not an architect. Sh...

132: Smart, Green and Beautiful Homes

28 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Smart, Green and Beautiful Homes with Ronn Lepage.  If these can be built in one of the harshest inhabited climates on Earth, then what would it tak...

131: How to live rich

22 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Davie Philip feels and lives like a rich man. He's an educator and facilitator at Cloughjordan (pronounced 'clock-jordan'), rated one of the top 10 pl...

130: Beautiful Architecture

15 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Beautiful architecture and high performance thermal envelopes. What a great combination.  This week I chat with Christine Alberstsson of Albertsson ...

129: How to make enriching buildings - Maharishi Vastu Architecture

07 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week I discuss Maharishi Vastu Architecture with Jon Lipman. Where ancient philosophy comes together with modern science to make spectacular and ...

128: Making Green Design Less Boring

01 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Eric Fisher is making green design less boring. Not that green design is necessarily boring in the fist place, but Eric believes in making buildings ...

127: Architecture Creates a Better Life

24 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Hays likes to think of Architecture as 'the mother art', encompassing sculpture, mathematics, engineering, anthropology, ecology and more. Above...

126 What's the responsibility of architecture?

18 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dominique Gettliffe and Alejandra Baltodano believe in the responsibility of architecture to make spaces that are good for people. Architecture should...

125: How to get a fully insulated slab - MAXRaft Update

10 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

If you're at all interested in building a better place to live, you need to start with good foundations. There are other solutions out there, but MAXR...

124 A Deeper Shade of Green with Dr Johann Bernhardt

03 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Johann Bernhardt originally came to New Zealand, expecting to stay for a year. That was about 30 years ago. In that time, Johann has made his mark ...

123: Organic Architecture with Eric Corey Freed

27 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Eric Corey Freed is no stranger to being interviewed. As author of 11 books, an architect, keynote speaker, consultant and sustainability thought lead...

122: Second Eden Studio

20 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Elena Michel travelled to England to learn the art of sustainable architecture. Through her practice, Second Eden Studio, Elena now provides an altern...

121 The Sociable Kitchen

15 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Ever noticed how people always seem to 'turn up' in the kitchen? Chris Larson definitely noticed this and has developed the concept of the sociable ki...

120: Zero Energy Houses in New York

23 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Why is a regular developer interested in producing a zero energy house in New York? http://www.kane-aud.com/

119: Green Home Building

16 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly Hart is an amazing thinker and innovator. He's passionate about the environment and generous with the resources and learning he shares.  http:...

118: Open Source Sustainability

11 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jae Sabol is a man on a mission involving open source, community based, sustainable building for 'The Highest Good of All'.  http://onecommunityglob...

117 What's Greenbuild and who's it for?

04 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Lindsay Roberts is the show director for Greenbuild, the premier conference and expo for the green building movement.  Organising Greenbuild is a 12...

116: How to cut heat loss at the slab edge by 88%

26 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Concrete slab edge insulation is one my hot topics. It seems to spark debate, firstly about if it's worth doing, then secondly about how to do it. I ...

115: The Difference Between HRV and ERV

21 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What's the difference between HRV and ERV? Grant Anderson is the National MVHR Manager at Fantech. (What's MVHR? Listen in to find out!) Please feel ...

114: Passive Solar Design

16 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Olorenshaw has been developing his passion for passive solar design for over 21 in Nelson, one of New Zealand's sunniest spots. While has does p...

113: How to Find Sustainable Products

05 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How do you find the right products to build a net zero, LEED certified, Living Building Challenge, or simply a healthier, more sustainable home? Stand...

112: Durability and Sustainability

27 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What's the link between durability and sustainability? Brett Little explains that there's no point in building a zero energy house, if it only lasts a...

111: Permaculture isn't Muesli

20 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Stephenson has always seen architecture as a unique opportunity to turn people's dreams into reality.  Living in a luxury bus with a family o...

110: The Common Mistakes of House Design

14 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How do you make a power plant in the middle of an urban setting, look interesting and attractive? And what's that got to do with designing sustainable...

109: How to have fun while creating a spectacular home

07 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Marnie Oursler used to sell houses. Now she designs and builds them and runs a successful company doing so. What I found most inspiring talking to ...

108: Sustainability House

31 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How do you make a house sustainable? Talking to the team at Sustainability House would be a good start.  Sustainability House believe that all build...