56 | Imagine Architecture T T Kim Newth Passionate about passive house design Imagine Architecture’s portfolio includes many notable homes. “I’ve always been aspirational and looked for ways to do things better and lift the standard.” ARCHITECTURE Imagine Architecture is a multi-award winning architectural design practice that sets a high bar on aesthetics, quality and performance in building design. Founded in New Plymouth in 2002 with a mission to change lives through great architecture and design, the practice grew its reach in 2021 with the opening of a second bespoke studio in the Bay of Plenty. “I’ve always been aspirational and looked for ways to do things better and lift the standard,” says company founder and Tauranga-based director Tony Biesiek. “My associate Steven Dixon, who works out of our New Plymouth studio, has been with me since 2004. He and I share the same values and design philosophy, and have a really good working relationship.” Imagine Architecture’s portfolio includes many notable homes, such as a luxurious two-storey Taranaki home (Butler + Osman) that set a new record in the region in 2022 after selling for more than its asking price of $5.45 million. Tony’s passion for sustainable architecture and energy-efficient design led him to high-performance passive house design, sparking a personal journey of discovery into how to make buildings airtight and the related construction methods and materials. After being approached last year about an exciting passive house project, Tony decided to formalise his growing expertise in this area. “I’m thrilled to say that I’m now a fully certified passive house designer. It means we now have all the tools and skills in-house for passive house design and can demonstrate and prove the future performance of a building before it is even built.” Tony has several passive house projects on the go this year, including an outstanding home that exemplifies the healthy, high-performance home approach. Construction of this Minden Hills home, inspired by the traditional Scottish highland ‘bothy’ (or stone cottage), will start on site from early 2025. “The concept for this project involves two bothies connected in an L-shape with a link between them.” Imagine Architecture’s other current passive house projects are a compact two-bedroom house at Lake Rotoiti and a farmhouse in Te Puke. Tony says a certified passive house can cut energy consumption by up to 90% compared to a standard house. Solar and wind power generation can also be added if desired. He notes that high-performance, high-standard house design is also good for respiratory health and well-being, with a quality mechanical heat-recovery system playing an essential part of that by keeping the air fresh inside and at a comfortable even temperature. “Take my own house, built in 2019, as an example: it stays at a constant 20degC year round, with no form of active heating or cooling. “We have a gas fire but don’t need to use it.” Alongside beautiful new-home designs, Tony’s practice covers school projects, renovations, commercial fit-outs and more. A particularly memorable commercial project was 95 on Vivian in New Plymouth that involved transforming a tired, poorly designed building into a state-of-the-art, future-proofed medical hub. “It was a resounding success.” Imagine Architecture takes a three-tiered approach to architecture that puts clients at the centre of the design process, while also considering process, place and core design principles. he practice team is skilled at transforming ideas into reality, delivering innovative design that also respects the environment. Clients can expect quality technical documentation and superior service. Tony says their clients enter the process as strangers but wind up as friends, noting how clients on one new-home project in Taranaki subsequently invited them back for a dinner party and talked about how the home’s design had changed their lives. Every client has a unique story and Tony says it is always an honour to bring those stories to life through quality architecture.
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