This month I discuss floor design for townhouses + we're giving you another chance to WIN with the Medium Quick-Fire Quiz!

This month, November 2022, COP27 is being held in Egypt and yet again countries are admitting that their targets have not been met. Presumably this is because it is more important for the politician, and their advisors, to secure current short-term positions rather than look out beyond to consider the inevitable lesser world this inaction will bring. This narrow-view approach often results in unintended consequences which can negate the initial intention.

This month I discuss external façade walls + to celebrate the launch of mediumdensity.nz, we're giving you the chance to WIN with the Medium Quick-Fire Quiz! 

Successful medium density housing (MDH) relies not just on great architecture, clever design and seamless engineering, but one other aspect as well: hidden services.

Decades ago I became convinced of the certainty of Global Warming, and the dangers it poses for the future if action was not taken. Recently I spend six weeks in France coming face to face with the reality of that future if all societies do not begin to work together immediately.

The word 'slum' comes up far too often in conversations about medium density housing, but the aspect of over-crowding is very much within our control.

A look at some of the key issues residents face with poorly designed facades and how they can be designed with both livability and aesthetics in mind. 

At present MBIE is considering extending the transition period for the implementation of the insulation requirements of the 5th Edition of NZBC clause H1 (Energy Efficiency) so as to allow industry more time to ready the supply chain. Perhaps this time could also be productively used to re-visit the Acceptable Solution minimum construction R-values requirements for the perimeter of roofs to consider if they make sense when the principles of heat transfer are applied.

While we are now building individual homes at greater density, we need to go much further. Not just two-storey townhouses, but building a minimum of three storeys, everywhere. This is where the art of the missing middle, multi-storey, multi-unit design comes into play.

As New Zealand finally embraces medium density housing, it's time to resolve key issues, design well, and build better.