It was a proud moment for Simon Crawford of Bella Homes when he found out he was the winner of the Resene Sustainable Home Award at the Registered Master Builders 2014 House of the Year.
He says he never expected to take out the award due to the amount of high quality entries out there.
“When you enter the competition you put yourself out there to be judged by your peers, so when you win an award like that it’s good to see your hard work pay off,” Mr Crawford explains.
Judges called the home very sustainable and close to being self-sufficient.
“This home was designed to maximise the spectacular view and blend with the coastal landscape,” they said.
“The entire home is clad with factory-oiled vertical shiplap cedar, and the ceilings to the upper level are lined with negative detailed plywood.
The home is solar powered, and the power the home does not consume is fed back into the main grid. Mr Crawford says the home reflected all aspects of sustainability, which helped it to stand out from others in the category.
“As well as being so sustainable, it is really well designed. The house is well positioned, well insulated, double glazed and warmed beautifully by the sun. In the middle of winter, the owners didn’t use any heating, and the house was as warm as toast,” he says.
Location played the most challenging part for the build, with tight access for the cranes carrying huge amounts of steel and concrete panels.
“The stairs were a major challenge for us. They were at maximum limit for the size of our crane, and we couldn’t get a bigger crane due to the one-way bridges,” Mr Crawford explains.
Mr Crawford says succeeding in House of the Year is a fantastic way to promote any business in the construction sector.
“You couldn’t buy advertising as good as the promotion you get winning an award. They’re extremely credible titles that people recognise.”
“House of the Year is a nationwide, recognised competition. Being associated with an award is only going to do well for a business. My phone rang hot when I won that award.”
Mr Crawford will be on the judging panel for Registered Master Builders House of the Year this year, and is looking forward to seeing the talent and quality entries in the running.
The Awards are made possible through the support of PlaceMakers, Master Build Services, James Hardie, GIB, Nulook, SafetyMate, Carters, ITM, Plumbing World, Resene, Westpac and Mitre 10.
