First of it's Kind

Bruyere
National APL Sustainable & Environmental Excellence

REGION & CATEGORY:
Auckland / Northland / Coromandel
Renovation over $1.5 million

NATIONAL AWARDS WON
National APL Sustainable & Environmental Excellence
Top 100

REGIONAL AWARDS WON
Regional Supreme Renovation of the Year
Regional Category Winner
Regional Gold





Successes:

Terry Bryers, Director at Bruyere was blown away when the team took out the APL Sustainable & Environmental Excellence Award at the 2022 National House of the Year Awards.

“I’m still adrenalised when I think about the awards night! This build is the first of its type in New Zealand, featuring the most up to date building technology available in the world, so to have this recognised is very special. 

“My favourite feature of this build is the wood throughout the interior spaces, it seems to be the latest style. We’ve seen so many trends come and go over the years, from Spanish arches to Miami Vice to Minimalist, it’s nice to see wood, which is a healthy, nontoxic, and more natural product,” says Terry.

Challenges

For Terry and the Bruyere team there were some challenges along the way.

“This build was to be a Certified Passive House, which means the exterior had to meet a specific set of requirements. Because we were dealing with an existing structure, a lot of time was spent assessing how to go forward with all sorts of detailing to ensure the requirements were met, such as the air tightness. 

“If at the end of the job we did not get the air tightness required, we wouldn’t get the certification. It was a make-or-break situation. We met all the requirements in the end making the home the first PassivHaus-certified renovation in the country,” explains Terry. 

Judges comments:

Featuring an extensive range of environmentally friendly features, and taking into consideration the minimal carbon footprint, this home is truly sustainable.  The existing home was dismantled to the solid concrete core and re-instated, minimising the carbon footprint as the entire structure was theoretically recycled. 

The introduction of new exterior joinery, an Austrian SmartWin Triple Glazed Thermally Broken System, a warm roof, and hot water solar panels, make this home extremely sustainable and environmentally friendly. This home was achieved through state-of-the-art computer modelling by environmental engineering and benchmarked to the most prestigious German “Green Building” standards. It is the first PassivHaus certified renovation in New Zealand.