22 July 2008

Finally..... the new site is up and running. We had written the previous site as a bit of a stopgap while we developed the new one, but, due to workload, the new one didn’t happen as quickly as we wanted. We have added a lot of new content which, we hope, will assist you in your projects. More FAQ’s, and a whole page dedicated to sustainable and green architecture (look under Green Building). And, if this doesn’t answer your question, then click here to send us your query.

The toughening up of insulation requirements for NZ homes entered phase 2 in June 2008. The related code, H1, sets out requirements for insulating NZ homes. In October 2007, the South Island and the North Island’s Central Plateau were required to comply. Last month saw the area extended to include all of the North Island south of the Franklin, & Thames/Coromandel districts. the balance of NZ will come into line on 30 September 2008. If you’re designing now, or even at the pre-insulation stage of building, consider “future-proofing your home by increasing insulation (if not already done so) to comply with up-coming changes.

This page on the BRANZ website gives more detail.

An interesting verdict in a High Courtcase appeared at the end of April this year. As many have noticed, the amount of documentation we, as designers, have been required to provide by councils for consent applications has increased in the last few years. There is a notion that including this information with consents will make for better building. Or maybe in an attempt to limit council liability.

Flying in the face of this is the case of Body Corporate 188529 & Others v North Shore City Council. In a nutshell, the judge set a precedent by maintaining that the Council and the designer were within their rights to not supply every last shred of documentation, providing that the materials were clearly referenced, and that the manufacturer’s details and specifications were readily obtainable. Alas, this verdict is taking time to filter through the risk-adverse Council system, so I suspect we will see many more trees being cut down in the near future to satisfy requirements.

Tarzan Design Ltd picks up another award. The Auckland branch of ADNZ held their awards night last Thursday and we’re pleased to say that we were awarded finalist in the Resene Colour Award section. Big thanks go to Myrna for the layout of the boards and for, firstly, picking the colours which were really what winning the award were all about.

New office to open. Later this year, we will commence building our new home and office in Whangaparaoa. We are excited about the prospect of both moving, and having the second office in the new area. Bobby will continue to run the Henderson office while Ian & Myrna operate out of the Whangaparaoa one. Keep an eye on the projects page as we will be regularly adding photos as the building gets underway.