Business South May 2021

| 69 Salmond Architecture ARCHITECTURE High performance designs popular T T Karen Phelps Wanaka-based architect Anne Salmond says t hat the Queenstown Lakes District Council has a clear focus on sustainability and a mandate to deliver and encourage this type of design. Photo: Jodie Rainsford Photography Proudly supporting Salmond Architecture THE TOTAL PACKAGE FOR HEALTH, COMFORT AND WELLBEING W www.optum.co.nz E admin@optum.co.nz P 0800 4 67886 BETTER LIVING BY DESIGN Design and installation for plumbing, heating, gas, drains, ventilation and solar. System integration to maximise efficiency and comfort for your home. N ew Zealand’s building standards have to change if the country is to meet the ambitious climate change targets set by government, says Anne Salmond from Wanaka-based Salmond Architecture. Anne has spent her whole career focusing on high performance buildings – long before it became trendy – and says she is excited to see more clients in her region seeking out this type of design. She is working on a number of innovative projects including the Luggate Memorial Cen- tre, which is designed to meet international Passive House standards so has a number of sustainable and high performance features incorporated into the design. Anne says the project was challenging due to the fact it is a multi purpose building that might cater for just a few people for a local meeting up to larger numbers for bigger events. This meant the design had to have far reach in terms of what it delivered. The building also had to be sustainable over the long term and sympathetic with the landscape and appropri- ate for the context. Anne is also working on a green star rated commercial building, a mixed use commercial and residential project and a number of high performance homes. She says that the Queenstown Lakes District Council has a clear focus on sustainability and a mandate to deliver and encourage this type of design, which is meaning some big changes for the region and arguably placing it at the cutting edge for this type of design in New Zealand. Anne herself is also proud to have been at the forefront of high performance design for decades and has taken a key role in building with new construction methods, creating more cost effective, warmer homes with mate - rials such as structural insulated panels and warm frame technology. Salmond Architecture designed the first warm frame home in New Zealand. The composite wall system combines light- weight structural steel with insulation prod- ucts to provide a wall frame that improves the thermal performance of the building envelope. The practice also designed one of the first homes made from structural insulated panels. Made from composite board using oriented strand board with urethane foam insulation, Anne says that the panels provide a strong, lightweight construction system with excel- lent insulation and bracing characteristics. It has since been responsible for developing details for use of this material in New Zealand houses. “The measured performance of these houses is impressive, with significant improve - ments in comfort and reductions in energy costs,” says Anne. Salmond Architecture undertakes resi- dential, commercial, retail and community architecture and has been delivering projects throughout New Zealand since 2002. Anne says the practice places a big em- phasis on design that is people focused and works collaboratively with clients to ensure that subsequent design is suitable for both current and future building users. “We also consider our responsibility to the wider context in which the buildings we design are placed, involving ourselves in urban design and sustainable design at both a project and community level,” explains Anne. “I’m very excited to see the changes happen- ing in the industry at the moment with regards to high performance homes and buildings and I’m proud to be a part of that shift.”