84 | Slate T T Kelly Deeks Energy efficiency and aesthetics merge BUILDING An exciting collaboration between two high-calibre construction and architectural teams has delivered a stunning high-performance home on New Plymouth’s Beach Street, combining contemporary design with technical excellence and energy efficiency. The project was the result of a partnership between Slate Construction and Imagine Architecture, two firms with complementary expertise and a shared passion for building homes that perform as beautifully as they look. Slate brand and marketing manager Heinrich Swartz says although the home is not a certified Passive House, it was designed with a strong focus on energy performance and sustainability with Imagine Architecture’s Tony Biesiek, a certified Passive House designer, leading the design. The result is a home that delivers exceptional comfort, thermal efficiency, and environmental responsiveness. “The clients were really clear on their vision – they wanted a warm, comfortable, and efficient home that would save them on energy costs in the long term,” Heinrich says. “They’ve moved in now and absolutely love it. It’s a high-quality, high-performance build, and we think it’s a great way forward for residential construction.” The home features airtight construction, a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system, SIPs construction by Formance, high levels of insulation, and uPVC windows and doors. Natural ply ceilings, extensive timber finishes, and feature glulam beams add warmth and character, while large panes of glass bring in light and views of the landscaped section. Tony Biesiek, director of Imagine Architecture, says the design brief was both exciting and challenging, with the clients downsizing from a lifestyle block and needing to maximise space on a smaller section. “We hugged the house back to the southern boundary so we could open up the north side for outdoor living,” Tony says. “We also had to design around a baby grand piano and significant artwork. The piano is now the cen90th year looming large Pepper Construction has always focused on enabling people to build communities. Pepper Construction T T Sue Russell Taranaki’s Pepper Construction will celebrate 90 years in business next year, with the firm set to enjoy what’s looking like another busy year. General manager Craig Oliver says over those nine decades, Pepper Construction has seen the good times and the tough ones. What’s kept the business strong, he says, is its willingness to adapt, stay agile, and keep moving forward as the industry and market evolve. “One of our core values is professional development. This has been a hallmark of the company through it’s life. More recently this value is best demonstrated with the establishment in 2023 of the Peppers Future Leaders Academy.” As Craig explains, the purpose of the Future Leaders Academy is to support qualified tradespeople develop the soft skills that will set them up well for their future roles in management. “Typically there’s a four or five year period between someone becoming a qualified tradesperson and becoming a foreman. It’s during those years we provide our academy member with opportunities to grow personally and professionally in readiness for taking on further responsibilities and seeing their career shift into a leadership role. It’s really rewarding to see many in our team having progressed through this learning pathway.” “Building on this, over the last 12 months our foremen have been particpating in The Breakthough Company’s Active Manager Programme. This has added a more advanced level of professional development and leadership training to these key people within our business.” “They all then bring their learnings back to the work site, which over time elevates everything we do.” Pepper Construction has always been a company that leaned heavliy into enabling people to build communities. One example of this is Managing Director Andrew Pepper’s involvement as a founding board member with Building Wellness Taranaki, an organisation focused on changing the traditionally poor statistics around mental health in the construction sector. “Training is offered to all our staff and there’s a hot-line staff can access. It’s all about supporting and making people aware of mental health.” Plans are in place to celebrate the milestone of 90 years with a gala event to be held in May. We’re just beginning to plan how this will happen, but everyone is looking forward to this very significant event for sure.” trepiece of the living space, which is exactly where something that beautiful should be.” Tony says his practice specialises in high-performance, sustainable design, with a focus on combining comfort, efficiency, and aesthetics. The Beach Street home showcases that philosophy, with clever design moves like a large north-facing picture window overlooking the garden. Above it, a sheltered aperture has been created for the clients to grow a tree through, strengthening the connection between house and garden. “On one of their first days moving in, the client emailed me to say the doors had been opening and closing all day, but the temperature inside stayed at 16.9 degrees with no heating,” Tony says. “That really shows the level of comfort and energy efficiency that has been achieved.” For Slate, the project demonstrates the value of collaboration between construction and design. The company’s team brought their technical expertise to resolve the challenges of building a high-performance home, including complex negative details and the integration of mechanical systems. “We worked closely with Imagine Architecture to ensure the design intent was met while also managing cost and constructability,” Heinrich says. “There was a lot of value engineering, and we made sure everything came in on budget. High-end residential projects are often open-ended, but we prefer to offer our clients fixed-price contracts, which is unusual at this level.” Slate was formed through the merger of BuildtechNZ and Fortyone Architecture, a partnership born from years of successful collaboration. The company now delivers both design and construction, with a focus on seamless integration and quality outcomes. Heinrich says the Beach Street project is the third high-performance home Slate has built, and he expects more to follow. “Mechanical ventilation and airtight construction make such a difference to comfort and liveability,” he says. “We’re excited to keep building in this energy-efficient space and to partner with more firms like Imagine Architecture to deliver homes that are both beautiful and resilient.” Earthworks & Excavation Civil Construction Water Infrastructure Site Clearing & Preparation Foundation Preparation Subdivision Development DELIVERED ON TIME, NO EXCEPTIONS. WWW.EXCAVAT.CO.NZ Proud Partner of Pepper Construction Ltd Providing quality workmanship in: • Custom staircases • Seismic strengthening • Custom metal work / sheet metal • Structural steel fabrication and installation Proud to support Slate Construction 06 755 0999 or 027 327 7706 adam@sparkmetal.co.nz 15 Auster Place, Bell Block, New Plymouth 4312 www.sparkmetal.co.nz
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