There are city councils in New Zealand which offer their citizens and local designers free advice on how to improve the quality and comfort of both new and existing homes.

It's time to realise that lack of ventilation, not airtightness, is the new enemy.

The incorporation of the cable-transits in the design of a firewall can allow for existing cables to penetrate the wall in a compliant manner, while also providing spare capacity for future cables to be passed through.

The longevity and hygiene of changing room seating can be maximised by specifying low-maintenance seating materials with antimicrobial protection.

Ensuring that medium-density low-rise apartment complexes comply with NZBC-H1 (Energy Efficiency) is more involved than for stand-alone dwellings.

How can we judge a building's performance when all testing methods have limitations?

Heating a house is not as simple as just fitting a heat pump to a convenient wall. The most important first step is to develop a heating and cooling Performance Brief for the residence.

Green roofs or living roofs are an obvious, visible and celebrated device in sustainable design. They offer both ecological advantages and some design challenges.

The peace of mind and long-term savings gained from selecting a more reliable membrane system is often underestimated.

A new edition (Fourth) of the New Zealand Building Code Clause H1 (Energy Efficiency) has been published. It became effective on 1st January 2017.