This healthy, thermally efficient home was a truly collaborative effort by the building team from YBL Building, architect and homeowner alike.

WORDS Kathy Catton PHOTOGRAPHY Studio Jubb

It’s fair to say that high-performance buildings are transforming how we live and build. Low energy use, high indoor air quality, quiet and future-proofed are just some of the reasons New Zealanders are choosing to build energy-efficient, healthy and comfortable homes.

For homeowners Rob and Sue, the priority was to build a home that was warm and dry. The couple was looking for a property in the Queenstown area in the run-up to their retirement and came across the Jack’s Point subdivision.

“I promised Sue that anywhere we moved to would be warm, dry and as sunny as possible,” says homeowner Rob. “Jack’s Point appealed because of the excellent sun, incredible vistas, access to walking and riding trails and the beautiful naturalistic setting.” With many of the older homes in the region only built to building code minimum, it was apparent the couple needed to build from scratch.

So, the section was bought in 2015 and the couple set to work on designing their home. Alongside their own “tinkering” with the design, they also engaged an architect from 2016 and building started at the beginning of 2020.

“We really wanted a house that was going to be very livable and comfortable, sustainable to build and live in for the long term. We wanted it to be loved and appreciated by us and future owners without needing wasteful major renovations,” says Rob. “Building made more sense than buying an existing home that hadn’t been designed with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind.”

Rafe Maclean from Rafe Maclean Architects was the chosen architect. Rob met Rafe while working on a function centre, and after discussing the project, Rafe indicated that he would be up for the challenge.

WARMTH OF WOOD The Haro Engineered Timber Flooring Fumed Oak Sauvage lends a luxurious natural warmth to this energy-efficient home.

“We gave Rafe a long list and, to his credit, he delivered almost everything on it,” says Rob. “We fundamentally wanted an energy-efficient, high-performance house of simple design, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an overflow area for guests.” The couple also wanted high-quality and durable finishing materials with a natural bent, making use of the stunning views, a double garage plus a workshop and separate shed. All on a relatively modest budget for the building performance.

Rafe Maclean Architects is focused on providing carefully designed building solutions for contemporary residential and commercial projects throughout Aotearoa. The goal is for all its projects to be built to a certifiable Passivhaus standard.

“Thermal analysis at an early design stage ensured the design decisions were closely tuned alongside thermal outcomes, resulting in a home that is exceptionally comfortable and has low operational energy requirements,” says Rafe from Rafe Maclean. “This home combines excellent building science with beautiful architecture.”

very livable and comfortable... to be loved and appreciated by us and future owners

Associate Director at Rafe Maclean, Libby Morgan, joined the project and did a superb job working with the couple to choose materials, refine internal layouts, prepare detailed construction documents and generally keep the whole contract moving forwards.

The build started pre-Covid-19, and Scott Yardley and his team at YBL Building were delighted to take on the project. They were familiar with building high-performance homes in the Wa¯naka and Queenstown basin and were up-to-date with all the materials used to build the home.

“We’ve built at least four or five high-performance homes in the last few years, and I even built my own home using New Zealand SIPS panels,” says Scott, Director of YBL Building. “The skill we have as builders is understanding how these products work and how they need to be constructed.”

With an excellent builder like YBL Building on the job, the first of the two significant challenges to this project was easily overcome: the technicality of the project. There was thermally broken joinery, a ventilation system and smart panels throughout the home to incorporate. This was a walk in the park for the team. “There was an enormous amount of detailing in this home that needed utmost thought and attention,” says Scott. “For example, normally, we would line a ceiling first, but with this build, we laid the floor first, and then the ply walls and had to erect scaffolding inside the home to then install the wood-panelled ceiling last. It was like a work of art!”

EVERY ANGLE PERFECT Structural and architectural steel specialists, Queenstown Engineering, provided the steel framing for this stunning home.

The second major challenge of the project was the hold-ups due to Covid-19 related supply issues. Rob explains more, saying, “Our windows, for example, are triple-glazed with the glass coming from Germany. While the manufacturer made them on time, they couldn’t get container space for three months.” But this didn’t stop Scott and his building team. Rather than stopping the build and, as Scott says, “lose the energy of the project”, he reduced the number of YBL builders working on-site to slow progress enough to match the glass delivery.

That left a robust team of two – foreman Nate and apprentice (as well as qualified tradesperson and engineer) Marty, on the tools.

There was a tense time around the sourcing of some products, as other suppliers were stockpiling materials out of concern about future shortages. “For the ventilation system, we had to redesign around an alternative product due to the original being sold out literally a week before we ordered it,” says Rob. “But Scott and his team were very open to changes like this.”

The Meranti plywood that was used for the interior walls was a little more complicated, as the product varies considerably in colour. The couple couldn’t find enough sheets of the colour shade they preferred, so they opted for a yellow Meranti ply instead. “The original black tinted oil we had selected for the ply went a liquorice green on application, and so Scott, the painter, Libby, Sue and I had a pretty intense three weeks sourcing lots of different oil samples and testing them to find one that worked well.” On top of that, the sheets came in two thicknesses (12 millimetres and 18 millimetres), so they had to be meticulously placed by Nate and Marty to avoid any inconsistent exposed edge appearance.

Rob says the detailing is one of his favourite aspects of the home. “The contrasting textures have been bought together wonderfully by YBL with superb attention to what looks like simple detailing, but took real craftsmanship to realise.”

AUSTRALIAN HARDWOOD LMA Timber supplied the reclaimed and sustainably sourced hardwood cladding, which is ideally suited to alpine climates like Queenstown.

In addition, the views of the Remarkables from the high gable window are a prized part of this home for Rob. The interplay between the Southland Beech tongue and groove ceiling, Meranti walls and raw steel make for another favourite. Sue enjoys the comfortable all-year-round even temperatures and treasures the interior and exterior nooks that give all-year sun.

After over a year of living in the 210 square metre, two-bedroom home, the couple is extremely proud of their abode saying it’s “better than we dreamed”. They enjoyed the build process, and although expecting fraught times throughout the project, these occasions never eventuated. “It was a pleasure working with Rafe and Scott. We gelled straight away, and thanks to their honest, clear communication, hard work and collaborative approach, Sue and I consider ourselves very lucky indeed,” says Rob. “We are really grateful to all the contractors involved.”

The team are now basking in the success of the recent Registered Master Builders House of the Year Award – taking out a Top 100 National Award and a Regional Gold Award in the 2022 New Home $ 1.5 – $ 2 million category.