Building Dreams Feature: Luggate Rise House
This is a fun interview with Building Dreams magazine.
The article includes Beth’s innovative approach to constructing her own home in Wanaka, New Zealand. Beth is a Principal Architect at Wanaka’s Chaney & Norman Architects, renowned for creating energy-efficient homes with high thermal performance levels.
Switching from architect to client gave Beth the opportunity to experiment and create a home that diverges from the typical Wanaka residences. She aimed to utilise her own home as a showcase of building a highly sustainable, high-performance residence on a budget.
Beth’s design, completed in Spring 2020, is the first in the wider Wanaka region to achieve a Homestar 8 design rating, recognising its exceptional performance and environmental impact. Additionally, the article notes that it received a Silver award at the Southern Region Master Builders House of the Year Awards.
Beth and her husband Marc Walker selected a section in Luggate for its favourable attributes, including space, budget, and stunning views. The design of their home, prioritises efficiency and quality over unnecessary space, challenging the conventional belief that homes must be larger.
Beth’s endeavour to demonstrate the practicality and beauty of smaller living spaces is highlight, alongside the incorporation of budget-conscious elements like materials (such as corrugated iron and plywood for cladding). These choices allowed for more investment in high-performance features such as double glazing and insulation.
Overall, the article underscores Beth’s home as an inspiring example of sustainable and efficient construction, referencing its ability to challenge conventional ideas about home size while prioritising sustainability and quality living.
(This article was a print article no longer available online).
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