| 85 Kelly Deeks Sustainability underlines tiny home mission The Rakiura is the smallest home Ecospace has designed and built for the amount of components packed in to it. BUILDING Canterbury: Ecospace A custom-designed tiny home by Ecospace is so perfect for its new owner, who is now looking to sell his conventional home and live in the tiny home full time. The Rakiura by Ecospace is a miniature version of the super energy efficient, Homestar 7 structural insulated panel (SIPs) home Craig Jones had built for himself in Kaiapoi. When Craig’s work situation had him working from different locations around the South Island, he wished he could pick up his warm, energy efficient home and take it with him. And now he can. Ecospace worked with Craig to miniaturise all the sustainable features in his conventional home and hide them throughout the home and trailer chassis, including a 10-panel solar array, two 100L tanks, a Lunos heat transfer system, heat pump water heating, composting toilet, and fireplace. “This a a completely nomadic, self sufficient, and sustainable home that Craig can take with him wherever he needs to,” says Ecospace managing director Gavin Barr. “With this design, we wanted to capture a lot of the beauty of the landscapes around the South Island with the materials and colour choices and the gable style roof.” The Rakiura was a challenge for Ecospace and the company’s South Island building contractor Irving Builders, as the smallest home Ecospace has designed and built for the amount of components packed in to it. Yet none of the features are visible or impacting on space inside the home. The environmentally friendly materials used in this build speak of Ecospace’s passion for sustainability. Builder Gavin even started Ecospace after stepping away from conventional construction to follow his dream of helping Kiwis on to the property ladder in a sustainable manner. “As an outdoors person and a proud young Māori, being a custodian of the land is part of my culture. “At Ecospace, our sustainable approach is reflected in all the materials we use, each one selected for its high quality and low carbon footprint, saving our clients money in the long term and saving the planet every day.” Ecospace’s construction process is process driven and systematic, minimising waste and downtime. High-end home builders Irving Builders, who Gavin met through Formance, were quick to get on board with Ecospace, seeing the benefits of this method for builder, customer, and planet alike. “Irving Builders can see how the construction industry is moving,” Gavin says “Time-efficient, cost-efficient, systematic and sustainable building is where the industry is going long-term.” As well as permanent living, Ecospaces are so flexible and customisable they can provide solutions for all types of people with all types of requirements, from the bach at the beach, to an Airbnb, to a granny flat for the whanau, to a studio for work. “We are so grateful to Craig, for being able to work alongside him and bring his vision to life, and the team in the South Island did a really good job of executing that,” Gavin says. “We are really proud of it, of the sustainable eco-friendly materials used throughout, the way it’s going to perform long-term, and it looks so great as well.” The Rakiura featured in the semi-finals of Best Commercial Build category of the 2022 Tiny House Awards. Proud to be associated with Sit down with us to make your dream home a reality lance.irving@irvingbuilders.co.nz (03) 318 1770 New Builds Renovation RetainingWall irving. Builds for Excellence
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