90 | Winning design showcases ethos Sian Taylor and Mark Read. Photos Simon Larkin. Team Green Architects T T Kim Bowden ARCHITECTURE Set against the dramatic landscapes of Queenstown and Wānaka homes created by Team Green Architects belong to their setting and perform brilliantly behind the scenes. Since 2013, company founders Sian Taylor and Mark Read have been designing bespoke homes, helping clients cut carbon and create buildings with lasting value. “We are passionate and focused on two things,” Sian says. “One is the architecture but, equally as important, is creating low-energy, comfortable, durable buildings.” To help do that, Sian is passive house certified, an international standard for energy-efficient design. In practice, it means homes are carefully detailed to stay comfortable yearround, while using minimal energy for heating or cooling. “We use the passive house principles in everything that we do,” Sian says. “It doesn’t matter what the budget, we’ll approach it with that ethos from the beginning – it needs to be low energy, healthy and comfortable.” The philosophy translates into deliberate design choices. Team Green emphasises orientation to the sun, simple, bold forms, and practical solutions that quietly boost performance. “We just don’t want to overcomplicate the buildings,” Sian says. “Quite often, complex design – lots of different shapes and complex junctions – is costly to build, but it also works against low energy, because a simpler form, inherently, is more energy efficient.” This approach is exemplified in their recent Arthur’s Point project, Moonlight Tui, which won Green HOME of the Year. On a steep, bush-clad site with stunning views, Team Green created a simple, two-storey box that balances beauty, performance, and cost. Thoughtful exterior shading and screens prevent summer overheating while letting in winter sun, and large windows frame the landscape without compromising energy efficiency. The result is a home that is as comfortable and low-maintenance as it is visually striking – a showcase of the firm’s ethos in action. While Queenstown is home base, Team Green’s influence extends across New Zealand. Alongside their design work, they also provide energy modelling and cost-benefit reviews on projects designed by other practices. It’s a data-driven approach, weighing factors such as glazing, orientation, shading, and heating and cooling systems to test how well a home will actually perform. The audits often deliver surprising results – like in one case, showing clients there’s little extra benefit in investing in triple-glazing over high-quality double-glazing, or demonstrating how trimming veranda widths bit by bit can find the sweet spot: wide enough to block summer sun, but open enough to welcome in warmth when the sun sits lower in winter. Although they are architects, Team Green’s work is about people as much as buildings. Clients consistently note Sian, Mark and their crew take the time to understand what matters most in a home: how spaces are used, how light and warmth move through the rooms, and how the house feels across the seasons. They say the team listens from day one, balancing energy-efficient design with livability, aesthetics, and budget considerations. “Essentially, we’re trying to create more timeless homes that will stand the test of time,” Sian says. Team Green emphasises orientation to the sun, simple, bold forms, and practical solutions that quietly boost performance.
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