Page 54 - Green Builder Magazine March-April 2018 Issue

Bush bloomer. At a mere 1,281 square feet, the
Dundonald Street home offers optimized view, sunlight,
air flow and seasonal breezes, and also maintains the
area’s natural character.

HOME OF THE YEAR AWARDS

10th Annual
Honorable Mention

New Zealand Original

It didn’t win a category this year, but The design is a super-high clerestory roof reaching up to the sky,

this unique home deserves kudos for optimizing low-angled winter sunlight by bringing it directly into the
center of the home, naturally warming the interior. Living areas are
its building science and unique design. positioned at front with large north-facing windows for maximum
heat in winter, and views over garden and bush. Bedrooms are on
the south side of the home for cooling over summer.
BY GREEN BUILDER STAFF These design strategies passively heat the house during winter,
using 36-mm-thick heavy-duty particle board for radiant energy heat
HEN CONSTRUCTING THE Dundonald Street storage and black floor tiles with R-2.8 insulation under. During
Environmental and Passive Solar House, developers summer, large roof overhangs shade the house, and the clerestory
had little thoughts—as in a creating a small home roof design passively cools the interior, using a “stack effect”—a
(1,281 square feet) that would have an even smaller hot air rising principle—which exhausts warm air through the top
impact on the area’s ecological footprint. light windows.
Dundonald is a mere five minutes from central Due to the steep incline of the project site, the floor plan was
W Whangarei, New Zealand, situated among oriented on a north-to-south axis, rather than the typical east-to-west
established bush. Homeowners wanted a dwelling that could provide axis used for Passive Solar houses. This significantly simplified the
optimized view, sunlight, air flow and seasonal breezes, but keep the construction, and meant the design would rely on direct northern
natural landscape intact. sunlight entering through the living areas and central clerestory

52 GREEN BUILDER March/April 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

14-53 GB 0318 HOTY-revised.indd 52 4/24/18 4:00 PM