How do I get my design to meet expectations of comfort?

When designing buildings for thermal performance, which criteria should dominate when it comes to the selection of building materials?

Fashions have changed and paint technology has improved; flat/matt sheen level paints are now being confidently used throughout homes, including in bathrooms and kitchens.

Getting layering right in New Zealand buildings for summer and winter.

The perceptions of project managers, quantity surveyors and passive fire installers when it comes to planning for fire stopping.

Should we be reviewing the natural ventilation aspects of the standard form of windows commonly used in our modern houses?

A dwelling should be considered as an integrated set of systems rather than a set of separate components.

We recently had occasion to be drawn into the realm of structural engineering with regard to concrete floor slab penetrations. The issue is all too common: no provision made for power or data cables (and other services) to pass through concrete floor slabs. 

EBOSS and the BIM Acceleration Committee are pleased to announce the findings from the fourth survey of our five-year programme that follows the progress of the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) into New Zealand.

Does the disconnect between the standard temperatures used for thermal performance research, and the actual interior and climatic temperatures to which building are exposed, cause confusion?