2012-05-15 11:43:06 // Design Daily Team
Plans to build a new theatre at Wynyard Quarter got a boost today in the form of a $5 million ASB Community Trust pledge.
2012-04-11 12:41:11 // Abby Burns
// The Idealog Blog
Cantabrians on the search for new styles of housing design will have a new place to check out their options from April 21-22 at PrefabNZ’s Home Innovation Village, known as Hive.
2012-04-11 11:47:50 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
Lack of land is getting in the way of affordable housing, according to the government's Productivity Commission, which is recommending relaxing urban limits.
2012-03-15 16:39:16 // Esther Goh
// The Idealog Blog
Renalldoors has just dropped $1.5 million on a state-of-the-art manufacturing gizmo, the first in New Zealand, and plans to tap into a growing market for timber, following trends in Europe, particularly as the Christchurch rebuild gains momentum.
2012-03-06 14:11:59 // Design Daily Team
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Plans for a major expansion of the Auckland port into the Waitemata Harbour have hit a road bump – the council has voted to review the role of Ports of Auckland before going any further.
2012-03-02 12:26:21 // Esther Goh
// The Idealog Blog
| 3 comments
The Auckland Theatre Company is out to address Auckland's dearth of performing arts venues, spearheading a campaign to build a new theatre in the Wynyard Quarter.
2012-02-10 11:58:43 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
| 2 comments
Architectural firm LAVA has come up with a twist on the typical class for Australia's rural schools, which call for rooms adaptable to changing terrains and temperatures.
2012-02-08 09:51:52 // Design Daily Team
| 2 comments
The Property Council has called Christchurch's draft central city plan overly restrictive and slammed it for favouring sustainability over economic viability.
2012-02-02 11:04:54 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
The country’s largest solar subdivision is on its way to Canterbury, where new homes at Christchurch's Highfield subdivision will have solar installations providing around a quarter of their energy needs.
2012-01-26 20:00:44 // Esther Goh
// The Idealog Blog
A $14 million expansion to Christchurch's Air Force Museum is underway after nine years of planning and delays caused by the Canterbury earthquakes.
2012-01-25 09:44:30 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
| 3 comments
Taupo could be in for a new eco-sustainable housing community, reshaping the way houses receive heat, electricity, water, and use wastewater.
2012-01-24 14:32:04 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
| 2 comments
A team of designers are on a quest to tackle the eco-housing prejudices of potential homeowners.
2012-01-20 09:55:04 // Design Daily Team
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Changes are afoot in the building industry and the Department of Building and Housing has launched a two-year campaign, Build It Right, to keep regular Joes in the loop.
2012-01-12 14:57:29 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
Construction is underway in Seattle on a futuristic zero-waste apartment building, intended to host a range of green initiatives including the recycling of waste water.
2012-01-09 17:20:19 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
| 2 comments
New ways to rebuild Christchurch will be floated at an international workshop next month.
2011-10-17 09:44:20 // Esther Goh
National tax reform is what's needed to effectively assist building owners with seismic strengthening, the head of the Property Council says – not just a Canterbury-specific tax policy.
2011-10-05 14:50:51 // Deirdre Robert
// Idealog #35: workshop
| 9 comments
The New Zealand architecture industry is suffering from a lack of confidence, says Andrew Patterson.
2011-07-15 17:13:00 // Vanessa Ellingham
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
A new Wellington housing development will use an innovative foundation design employing polysterene waste to ensure the houses can withstand seismic activity better than homes built on traditional concrete slabs.
2011-05-06 09:00:00 // Design Daily Team
// The Idealog Blog
A new online service has been launched that allows Licensed Building Practitioners to register their skills and expertise on the Internet. The service, accessed through the Department of Building and Housing website, allows licensed building practitioners to register online, edit their profiles and update their skills and expertise. It’s not a bad deal for customers either, who can use the website to check if practitioners are licensed and to obtain the latest information about them.
2011-04-27 18:01:55 // Deirdre Robert
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
Architects and designers have been a little slow when it comes to adopting greener building principles, and they need to wake up, according to builder and designer Lawrence McIntyre. His words come after the release of a report on a Golden Bay home, built by McIntyre, which has been awarded the highest energy efficient rating for a house in New Zealand.
2011-04-12 10:43:58 // Design Daily Team
// The Idealog Blog
There’s any number of opinions as to why some buildings in Christchurch stood up to the quake while others were decimated. Now in a bid to lay those questions to rest, the terms of reference for the The Royal Commission’s Inquiry into Building Failure caused by Canterbury Earthquakes have been finalised and include an inquiry into the adequacy of current legal and best-practice requirements for the design, construction and maintenance of buildings in central business districts in New Zealand.
2011-04-08 16:03:45 // Design Daily Team
// The Idealog Blog
Cup and Show Week is one of the biggest tickets on the Christchurch events calendar, and it’s hoped an initiative announced by the Central City Property Owners and Business Group, Civil Defence and the Christchurch City Council, will help get the CBD up and running in time for the week long festival of fashion, races, agricultural and entertainment events.
2011-03-30 09:00:00 // Design Daily Team
// The Idealog Blog
Last week Empire State Building owner Anthony Malkin addressed attendees at the Green Property Summit in Auckland on the merits of retrofitting existing commercial building stock versus the construction of new green buildings. And in continuation with that theme comes this article from Triple Pundit which looks at a growing movement in the U.S. that asks the question: Why not reuse the old building instead of building a new one? The catch phrase amongs preservationists is now: “The greenest building is the one already built.”
2010-12-01 17:26:32 // Design Daily Team
// The Idealog Blog
A home in Auckland’s Remuera that will give you a serious case of house envy is one of the supreme award winners at the recent Registered Master Builders 2010 House of the Year and RMB Commercial Project Awards. Auckland’s Deloitte Centre and a home renovation in Wellington took out the remainder of the big awards.
2010-11-17 12:09:58 // Celsias Team
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
It’s no secret that New Zealand homes aren’t renowned for their warmth and insulation properties. In a bid to address the issue, in 2008 the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (NZGBCSD) released a report on how to improve the performance of Kiwi homes. The report—resulting from a two-year $300,000 research project—found one million of the country’s 1.6 million homes were inadequately insulated and 45 percent were mouldy. It indicated 26 percent of homes (410,000) could be making their occupants ill. But now, a new rating system has been launched which allows homeowners to assess their home’s performance in comfort, health and energy-efficiency.But while it’s a good start, what are the pitfalls?
2010-10-20 16:57:05 // Design Daily Team
// The Idealog Blog
According to the Minister for Building and Construction, Maurice Williamson, energy efficiency in the home is all down to good building design. The words—though not rocket science— came as Williamson launched the second edition of Designing Comfortable Homes—a book commissioned by the Cement and Concrete Association of New Zealand (CCANZ), with a little help from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. Recent changes to the Energy Efficiency clause of the Building Code, and the development of NZS 4218—the thermal insulation standard—spurred CCANZ to update the first edition.
2010-08-03 08:48:59 // Design Daily Team
// The Idealog Blog
They’re tall, looming and sometimes they're a blight on the landscape. But that’s not the case with the winners of eVolo Magazine’s 2010 Skyscraper Competition.
2010-07-09 12:27:12 // Design Daily Team
// The Idealog Blog :: The Idealist
These days children have a plethora of devices to play with - Game Boy, PlayStation, Nintendo Wii – to name a few. Still, nothing quite beats the joy derived from the tried and true plastic favourite LEGO.
New York City opened its first LEGO store earlier this week and instantly engaged with customers and passersby by giving them the chance to help construct a 15-foot-tall model of a Big Apple near its entrance.
Frank Bonomo from core77 explores all the LEGO knickknacks in the new store, including what else but a LEGO video game. There’s also a great video illustrating the giant apple construction.
