Current Projects

Here you can get a sneak preview as to the very latest projects that the Ecotect team are working on. Click on the project title or the thumbnail in the gallery to be taken to find out more about that project.
 

This one was a challenge due to very restrictive land covenants which prohibited Shadowclad cladding and only just allowed James Hardie Monotek cladding with a texture coating – adding unnecessarily to building costs. I added horizontal timber battens to accent the horizontal lines and add interest to an otherwise plain finish. A 3 BR home with attached double garage totalling 174m2 and unlike every other house in the street, this one faces north! – Providing the large main space with 2.7m stud and high glazing, a passive solar direct gain heating ‘system’ for free! On rare cloudy days in Hawkes bay, the locally made Pyroclassic mini fire with wetback will keep comfort levels high for my clients. The rest is standard Ecotect fare; Maxraft slab exposed concrete floors, 140 thick wall framing, full levels of Terralana insulation, and double glazed Low E windows. Another high performance yet modest budget home for Hawkes Bay.

Phillips House

After taking a few years to find the right site in Geraldine, my clients finally found a corner site that the current owner wanted to subdivide, creating a 469 sq.m site with its own road frontage but with the narrow end facing north to challenge me somewhat to create the best passive solar design I could. But with just one bedroom required I was able to maximize all main spaces with a north and east aspect for outdoor living access. The separate garage and office completed the development with room to spare for vege gardens at the back. A low pitch sloping ceiling with a backslope north eave crowns the main living space while the rest of the house has a standard truss roof with 2.4m stud. The house is just 117.55m2 plus an additional 40.66m2 for the separate garage and office. All standard Solabode design features were incorporated to make this one of the warmest and most energy efficient homes in South Canterbury.

On the site of a demolished old house in Mangapai, south west of Whangarei, this 3 bedroom + Study family home with a versatile changeable living space using large sliding doors, is very compact at just 142 sq.m. Designed in the Califonian bungalow style under a simple roof line it features 2.7m ceilings in the main space, fully passive solar designed with extra roof shading for the north facing bedrooms so they don’t overheat in winter. Clad in Shadowclad and batten and a traditional corrugated roof. With all the Solabode features it will be the warmest house in the region, as even Northland gets some gloomy winter days.

Grimmett-Mackley House

Predominantly owner designed, this simple and affordable 4 bedroom home fitting within 133m2 provides for a growing family of 4 on a small lifestyle block. Macrocarpa board on board cladding and all the other features of a Solabode type dwelling but with a steep pitch skillion ceiling in the main spaces and borrowed light internal windows to illuminate the passage with natural light.

Gordon and Christine acquired this family property alongside the mighty Clutha river just north of Roxburgh in Central Otago. There is even an old stone cottage ruin on the site. After some judicious tree felling, this site will be perfect for passive solar design with the same northerly aspect affording views up the Clutha valley. Featuring a mezzanine loft spare bedroom/study area that hovers over the main living space below providing high vaulted ceilings which are matched by alpine style gable end glazing to let the winter sun right into the building.

Kim and Joe are Christchurch 'refugees', they bought this large gently sloping section in Brooklyn near Motueka and after a few design attempts I finally got there with something they liked the look of. Just a modest 2 bedroom home with one bathroom, this modest passive solar home boasts a maxraft polished floor, and a local Moutere clay adobe feature wall behind the log burner for additional thermal mass. The sloping ceiling in the main space adds volume and spaciousness.

Stephen and Karen are building this new passive solar home on a lifestyle block in the Wairau Village area 25km south west of Blenheim, Marlborough. A separate shed is also being built as temporary accommodation on site while they build, this will also house the 4.6kW solar power system which will run the house and shed. Materials are simple board and batten weatherboard. A Maxraft floor with exposed coloured concrete will help keep the home warm in winter.