Go green

A new 194 square metre home in Whitianga Waterway's new airfield subdivision is a showplace for sustainability. Combining practicality with luxury, this home adheres well to the mantra form follows function.

Green building principles, many sourced from international experience, were the driving force behind the use of sustainable materials. The weatherboards and fascias are New Zealand grown cedar and the home features added benefits, such as higher R value rated wool insulation, solar hot water and underfloor heating and an interior finished with Environmental Choice approved low VOC Resene paint systems in Resene Half Joanna (fresh neutral) and Resene Almond Frost (cocoa brown) for a healthy interior environment. Resene Environmental Choice paints also feature on the exterior of the home with Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Bokara Grey (charcoal black).

The focus on sustainability is reflected all the way through to the final details, with excavated soil on site being reused for garden landscaping, a Greymate system installed for greywater irrigation, a Chili Pepper water saving return system to ensuite vanity to reduce water wasted while waiting for the hot water to arrive and even the site sign was made from plywood not PVC. The high gable design allows the sun to stream into the kitchen in the mornings providing natural early morning warmth.

The design concept, based on simple aircraft lines, provides space for an organic garden, children's play area and optional outdoor entertaining spaces.

Building Contractor: Percival Design Homes
Painting Contractor: JL Connolly Whitianga Ltd
Resene: Mike Martin, Waikato Sales Representative
From the Resene News – issue 2/2008