GUEST POST: Jon & Yoshimi Brett discuss breaking down silos and ego-centric thinking to steer the industry towards more eco-centric ways of thinking. 

Ready! Fire! Aim! Sound Familiar? We’re often juggling multiple issues with a constant focus on value management and missing the real value. What if we shifted our thinking?

GUEST POST: Jon & Yoshimi Brett discuss Tanglewood, their family home rebuild in the Eastern bays of Auckland which has achieved Net Zero Energy and Petal Certification under the stringent Living Building Challenge.

Creating living buildings opens up conversations about design, sustainability and regeneration of natural resources.

Declare labelling provides low-cost assurance to architects and consumers that your products are healthy for the environment.

If we aren't sure about a chemical or product's toxicity or health impacts, we shouldn't use it. 

I've written several posts which highlight the big challenges and likely outcomes New Zealand is facing by our current 'unsustainability' – especially issues of growing social inequality and unmanageable climate change.

Kiwis like to get things done – fast. The quicker the design period and the faster the build, the fewer overheads and less risk to the client and contractor. It makes good business sense. Or does it?

I talked in my last blog about the global and local sustainability crunch hitting people and communities hard across NZ and how we need to reconnect our future vision with nature – our key ally.

This month we introduce Jerome Partington to Detailed. Jerome is an expert in sustainable building practices and is a Senior Associate at Jasmax, where he helps create some of the most advanced sustainable projects in New Zealand.