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Glowing, gorgeous and green

Monday, 25 August 2008
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By JESMA MAGILL
Our Homes Today

Leigh home by Graham Sawell, Pyramidz Architectural Design.
Leigh home by Graham Sawell, Pyramidz Architectural Design.
An ideal site, dream clients and a requirement for a sustainable design in a semi-rural, coastal setting proved a winning combination for Warkworth architectal designer Graham Sawell.

His design, for the home at Leigh, scooped the Environmental Award category at the ADNZ (Architectural Designers New Zealand) annual ceremony held in Auckland recently. (See OHT, July 28, 2008.)

Sawell’s Leigh clients were committed to sustainable design from a philosophical view before the design work began.

This made adhering to the council requirements even easier, and the trio worked well together to achieve something spectacular.

As well as impressing the ADNZ judges, the home has attracted much attention with curious and impressed passersby knocking on the door to make enquiries.   

The materials selected were recycled native flooring, pine plywood ceilings and kitchen cabinetry, plantation-grown macrocarpa board and batten weatherboards, eucalypt decking, a steel roof, wood-burner, woollen insulation, solar water heating, a passive sewerage system, rainwater recovery tanks and passive solar gain. 

The original home was shifted to another site, with the new home built on the existing footprint. “Earthworks weren’t required, so we were off to an environmentally-friendly start,” says Sawell. “Using sustainable materials added approximately 10% to the total cost of the building. While the clients paid more initially for premium products, the payback down the track will be significant – in financial as well as environmental terms.”    

While building in the city doesn’t require the same provision of basic services such as water supply and waste water management as rural areas, Sawell says in urban areas more emphasis is being placed on the aspect of a building and its design so that it takes best advantage of passive solar gain.

“People are also putting more thought into the building products they buy. For example, before they purchase it’s becoming common for them to request certificates for timber that confirm it is plantation-grown.”

He finds the recent demand for heat pumps a concern, however, as power-reliant heating is vulnerable to supply, and Sawell hopes the popularity of solar heating will increase, especially with the recent arrival of more efficient systems integrating solar heating with water supply.

While traditional wood burners have been criticised for their emissions and are banned in some fog-prone areas, he sees efficient wood burners as a positive form of heating in Auckland providing purpose-grown firewood is used for fuel.   

Sawell specialises in designs for coastal and rural properties, which occupy stunning sites.

“It’s stimulating working with clients who appreciate the beauty of the environment and wish to respect that environment while creating a dynamic and exciting place to live.”