CHALLENGING MYTHS AROUND GREEN BUILDING

One of the main questions surrounding green building is a fair one, but one rooted in misconceptions about the process as a whole: how much more does building sustainably cost? If implemented into the design process at the beginning, it doesn’t have to cost more at all. “One of the myths is that building more environmentally friendly is more expensive. We’re only saying it’s a misconception because it needs to be challenged. Find a way to do it,” Solarchitect director and architect, Russell Devlin says. “If builders and clients are talking sustainability, it’s easier to incorporate when it is addressed from the beginning of the process. Doing this from the beginning then doesn’t have to cost any more [than traditional building methods].” With eco-friendly living at the forefront, Solarchitect has been garnering more and more attention. Russell has been designing using passive solar design principles since 1982, and he’s found that professional groups also turn to Solarchitect for its experience in the field. “We’ve become more relevant – it’s not that we know it all, but we have tried most of it. We know what works and what doesn’t work,” Russell says. In the current day and age, building sustainably has also become synonymous with using durable, long-lasting materials. While this is one part of the equation, it doesn’t paint the picture as a whole. Sustainability is an umbrella term that includes everything in ‘green’ and environmentally friendly design and building.

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Under that umbrella is passive solar design, the design concept that uses the sun’s energy to heat and cool buildings, whether residential or commercial. This is different from active solar heating systems, which use fans, pumps or electrical controls to utilise solar energy.

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Mainstays in passive solar design: One of the myths is that building more environmentally friendly is more expensive. We’re only saying it’s a misconception because it needs to be challenged. Find a way to do it. - Solarchitect director Russell Devlin “

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1.Passive solar design is quite straightforward, and the principles have been around for a long time. First principles make sense, such as good orientation, good insulation, natural ventilation and using thermal mass to keep warm and cool.

2.It involves a thorough approach to looking at the site. Individual

sites across New Zealand vary, and the same is true for sites across Canterbury. 3.The regional climate and the microclimate are important, as well as how the climate is going to change in the future. “Our journey with passive solar design is to be more energy efficient, working naturally into more environmentally friendly and healthy building, to then become more rounded in terms of sustainability,” Russell says. Christchurch people can be regarded as a little conservative, Russell says, but the city has shown itself to be quite innovative. With the Christchurch City Council Share an Idea campaign in postearthquake Christchurch, people saw it as an opportunity to try something different. It got a really ‘green response’ from the public, garnering over 106,000 ideas on ways to shape the recovering city. For a lot of people, that meant rebuilding the city in a more environmentally friendly way. “We’re constantly trying to lift the bar. We’re designing better than we ever did before. And postearthquake, we decided to lift the bar again,” Russell says.

With that in mind, Solarchitect started the NEO TM , or Net Energy Zero design standard, several years ago. The fact of the matter is that our homes can generate more energy than they use on an annual basis.

Homes do generate more in summer, which balances out a little more used in the winter. Annually, the aim is to produce a zero net energy bill, saving you thousands in the process. That’s the leading idea behind NEO, and Solarchitect believes it is commercially viable. It’s based on everything Solarchitect has learned from practicing the past several decades. It’s a challenge that requires the client to live in their home in a different way than they’re used to perhaps, but still maintains a high level of comfort and convenience. Sustainable Living One thing that Russell stressed was that while it’s important to anticipate what’s to come, we really need to be focusing on the current problems that we face in housing. “We’re a little tired of environmental design being described as ‘for the future’. We should be designing for this to happen now. However, the anticipatory nature of what we’re doing means we are able plan ahead for the changes we are likely to see,” Russell says. Russell Devlin and Solarchitect continue to be an integral part of the sustainable architectural design effort in New Zealand that is actively breaking down myths surrounding green building.

Solarchitect Level 1 564 Colombo Street Christchurch (03) 377 4315 info@solarchitect.co.nz www.solarchitect.co.nz

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