Graeme North awarded MNZM Member of the NZ Order of Merit
For services to architecture and natural building materials
This award is not for me alone. I see it as validation and recognition of a lifetime’s effort that has required the collaboration of many colleagues. The co-operative nature of my work with natural materials has been fantastic, and getting to know all the many people from all round the world who have also been involved, and who have willingly shared knowledge, has been wonderful. By Graeme North
N
atural building materials – these include earth, e.g. mud brick, cob, rammed earth, straw bale, stone and untreated naturally durable timber – are often locally sourced, often abundant, and are non-toxic. Using these materials in my design work has been my life’s work and passion.
has surprised and humbled me how effusive they have been. That’s how I know that this natural materials work is important, even though it has consumed several thousand hours of my voluntary and professional time. Along with the Earth Building Standards, our book will be my way of imparting what I’ve learned over 45 years to help make sure the next generation have the benefit of good knowledge to help them build well, and to make long-lasting comfortable and durable buildings from earthen or other natural materials that are close by.
Wide scale use of such materials will be a critical part of a decarbonised built environment and these low carbon and carbon-sequestering materials are the way of the future. The Smithsonian Museum agrees – it predicted in 2012 that the first of the forty most important “ Covid 19 prevents things to investiture, but a substitute recognise temporary ceremony was about the organised. future was that sophisticated buildings would Graeme North was to receive be built of mud. his MNZM from the Governor
As to the current housing crisis – there are two ways out of it that I can see. Firstly, enable self-help by facilitating and assisting people to build for themselves out of nontoxic natural materials. Secondly, the Government needs to build similarly good houses that people can securely rent
General on Friday April the 3rd. I have kept However this ceremony had on writing earth building to be postponed. However, in standards with keeping with the times a virtual my colleagues ceremony was held between because I know Graeme and his family and a how much this few elegantly attired friends. “ type of building can have a positive affect on people’s lives. Using these materials enables people to long term to eventually own. build houses for themselves – or have them It is cheering to know that Standards built for them – in a way that can have minimal New Zealand and some professional environmental impact. At their best, natural organisations have been of great help e.g, Te materials use minimal amounts of energy and Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of processing to win, place and use, resulting in Architects, along with all the other nominating beautiful durable well-scaled buildings. organisations to the past and current earth I am currently working on a book with my building standards committees, as they come daughter, a writer, where we interview people to realize more and more the importance of who live in the houses that I have designed the use of natural materials and their potential over the past 45 years, seeing how much these contribution towards a low carbon built houses have had a positive impact on them. It environment.
EARTHBUILDING MAGAZINE - www.earthbuilding.org.nz
SPRING 2020
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