Business South May 2021

70 | Chaney & Norman Architecture Homestar rated home for every-day Kiwis T Richard Loader Wanaka architect and Homestar certifier Beth Chaney designed and commissioned her own Homestar rated home to demonstrate that a well designed and high performing home can be achieved on a budget accessible to all Kiwis. ARCHITECTURE . quotes@maxraft.co.nz www.maxraft co.nz Contact for a quote today! 0800 MAXRAFT (629 7238) NZ’s Premier Fully Insulated Concrete Slab. Warmer, Healthier and more Thermally Ecient Homes. High R-Values approx. 4.5, Site Specific Engineering 0800 344 112 | plymasters.co.nz Bringing your ply & panel vision to life . www.e13windows.co.nz A n architect and Homestar Certifier, Beth Chaney is a strong advocate for building better and made the bold commitment few homeowners undertake. Designing and commissioning her own Homestar rated home provided Beth with an entry level home as well as a case study demonstrating that a well designed and high performing home can be achieved on a budget that is accessible for the every-day Kiwi. Homestar is a tiered rating scheme that looks holistically at the design and construc- tion of a home. Homestar’s aim is to raise New Zealand’s poor building standards and is becoming common in populated areas like Auckland, while still rare in the South where it is perhaps needed most. “It looks at the health of the building, its occupants and the effect that the construction and long term occupation of the home has upon the environment,” says Chris Norman, Beth’s business partner in Queenstown Lakes District practice Chaney & Norman Architec- ture. “This includes efficient space planning; selection of sustainable, low impact materials; operational energy; water use; wastewater management and; waste reduction in both construction and the lifecycle of a building.” Located between Wanaka and Cromwell in the small town of Luggate, Beth’s three bedroom 108m2 home is compact, light and cosy with open plan living spaces connecting to outdoor living areas. Built of robust and low maintenance materi- als, the secrets of success are what lie behind the walls and how the simple materials have been assembled. Matt Smith from MDS Building and Con- struction Ltd worked closely with Beth to ensure the detailing and components were put together in ways that would achieve the best results and were affordable. “The craftsmanship behind the walls and the finishing is to a very high standard. Seechange NZ provided assistance with the blower door test and had the patience to help the build team achieve an airtightness rating of 0.77 air changes per hour. This level of air- tightness has a huge impact upon the energy efficiency of the home.” Beth’s home received a Homestar 8 rating — a first in the Queenstown Lakes District, while being in a region that would benefit from the energy and health benefits offered by the scheme. “The higher Homestar ratings require house designs to be thermally modeled to determine “ ... so the home performs six times better than a code standard home.” how a house will perform. This helps make informed choices on how and where you need to put your focus and money. Budget can be wasted on diminishing returns. This 8 Star home has an energy demand of 35.4kWh/m2 and if it were designed to standard building code would have an energy use of around 200kWh/m2, so the home performs six times better thermally than a code standard home.” Based in Wanaka, Chaney & Norman Archi- tecture has architectural projects anywhere from Gisborne, the Coromandel, Wellington or Te Anau. “We do focus locally as we understand what it takes to build within the South Island’s climate and having been long time Wanaka locals, we understand the alpine lakes lifestyle and what it takes to live a rewarding and healthy lifestyle.” Rather than chasing the extravagant pro- jects with endless budgets, Chris says their penchant is working with clients who really appreciate an uplifting and liveable building that has a good quality internal environment, uses less resources to build and will endure with less energy and resource consumption.