It is an important part of the Otanui Farm Park project to provide as complete a model as possible for environmentally sustainable development. To this end, we have been working closely with two local designers/builders:
Construction of a Straw House
David Trubridge
David has been involved with the Otanui project from the outset, helping with the initial village plan and siting of the houses. He is an artist and architectural designer who specialises in "houses for people who care about how they live". He offers;
- Earth and masonry buildings for passive solar heating
- Active solar heated underfloor systems
- Designs using sustainably managed and non-toxic resources
- Artistically designed houses that feed the spirit
For more information contact :
David Trubridge Ltd
44 Margaret Ave. Havelock North
ph/fax 06 877 4684
BS&D Ltd.
Reinhard Busch is a Swiss-born builder living near Otanui who has patented his own eco-building system, which consists of pre-made plywood-and-wool sandwich panels. All the timber is kiln-dried rather than treated and the joinery is solid oiled macrocarpa. The exterior is finished with rendered plaster and colour steel tiles, completing a package both environmentally friendly and low maintenance.
He sells his houses either fully built or as kitsets, as the system is
ideally suited for the semi-skilled handyman builder. The panels slot
together as easily as lego blocks, so if you can use a nail gun, you can
build your own house. Reinhard also offers a certain amount of supervision
as part of the kitset package.
Below is an example of one of his popular designs, a 185 sq.m. octagonal house which retails for $150 000 built or $110 000 as a kitset. These designs are extremely flexible as all internal walls can be moved to suit tastes without additional cost. Thus, for example, this design could easily be converted to a 4-bdrm house.
For more information: View the Building System and Design Website-www.bsdltd.tk
BS&D Ltd - Sample House Plan
(Click on the image to see a larger image in a new window)