44 | Good designers bring ‘immeasurable’ value Theca Architecture’s Glenn Murdoch achieved a milestone with the design of New Zealand’s first Certified Passive House Plus, showcasing world best practice in sustainable architecture. ADNZ: Theca Architecture ARCHITECTURE T T Russell Fredric Architectural designer Glenn Murdoch is a passionate advocate of high performance, efficient, healthy homes that bring long-term value to their owners. However, many people looking to build do not understand the value of this investment, nor of engaging a reputable designer, Glenn says. “People often perceive it as being expensive up-front, but the value that a good designer brings is immeasurable.” He believes everyone deserves to live, work and play in an environment that promotes good health. “Architecture cannot be excellent unless it provides a healthy environment for occupants. Everything we do is aimed at providing both architectural excellence and healthy buildings without compromise.” For Glenn, this passion for professionalism extends to being a member of Architectural Designers New Zealand which has been hugely beneficial, he says. “It brings a lot of value into the business. It provides a really talented pool of people that I can collaborate with and share ideas with and learn from. It provides great education and learning opportunities in technical areas that we need to keep abreast of.” The organisation’s 700-plus members include leaders in architecture, qualified architectural designers, registered architects, innovators in sustainable design, students, interns and practice owners. “The quality of architecture produced by ADNZ members is outstanding and worldclass. Across New Zealand ADNZ members are doing incredible work.” Glenn himself achieved a milestone with the design of New Zealand’s first Certified Passive House Plus, showcasing world best practice in sustainable architecture. Built in 2018, the Christchurch house is a modest 150 square metres of an uncomplicated design, however a special feature is its custom made triple-glazed wooden windows and doors. The house also incorporated sliding screens on the north facade to reduced overheating. “One of the challenges of a passive house is summer overheating, they’re very easy to make too hot. Passive houses are super-easy to keep warm in winter.” This energy efficiency aptly highlights the long-term value of a high performance home and that the traditional measurement of building cost is fundamentally flawed, Glenn says. “People talk about square metre rates which is the worst metric ever for understanding the cost of building. What we need to be thinking about rather than just the capital cost of building is the cost of building and ownership if we consider running costs as well. If we consider the total cost of ownership then the picture starts to look very, very different.” Factors included in passive house certification include orientation and shading, insulation and thermal bridges, airtightness, ventilation, hot water and heating. For certification a passive house must also achieve a maximum airtightness of 0.6 air changes per hour. A Passive House Plus certification acknowledges buildings that are both more efficient and produce renewable energy onsite. Although Theca Architecture has been focused on new builds, Glenn is now undertaking more renovations and commercial work. With numerous successful projects completed and a solid reputation for designing healthy buildings Glenn is not surprisingly “absolutely flat out” despite the multiple challenges of supply problems, rising costs and interest rates. “People still seem be to be pushing ahead and wanting to build.” Ecologically responsible, sustainable & durable products. The perfect material for an energy e cient home. 03 348 6919 sales@italiantiles.co.nz 31Mandeville Street, POBox 8684, Riccarton, Christchurch 021 192 2122 | grant@geobuilders.co.nz www.geobuilders.co.nz • Architectural • Passive • Project Management Proudly supporting Theca Architecture
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