Home Style Green

Davie Philip feels and lives like a rich man. He's an educator and facilitator at Cloughjordan (pronounced 'clock-jordan'), rated one of the top 10 places to live in Ireland.  Cloughjordan Ecovillage contains 129 energy efficient houses. It features a biomass-fuelled district heating system and the whole village is designed for biodiversity.  http://homestylegreen.com/131 http://www.thevillage.ie/

Beautiful architecture and high performance thermal envelopes. What a great combination.  This week I chat with Christine Alberstsson of Albertsson Hansen Architecture in Minneapolis.  http://homestylegreen.com/130 http://www.aharchitecture.com/

This week I discuss Maharishi Vastu Architecture with Jon Lipman. Where ancient philosophy comes together with modern science to make spectacular and enriching buildings. http://HomeStyleGreen.com/129

Eric Fisher is making green design less boring. Not that green design is necessarily boring in the fist place, but Eric believes in making buildings that are well suited to their location and are interesting for people. To find out more about Eric and his Pittsburg practice check out some of the great images on his  website . http://homestylegreen.com/128

Chris Hays likes to think of Architecture as 'the mother art', encompassing sculpture, mathematics, engineering, anthropology, ecology and more. Above all though, Chris likes the fact that architecture can help people create a better life. http://homestylegreen.com/127 Green design, eco-architecture, passive solar design, energy efficient design, sustainable architecture, sustainability. 

Dominique Gettliffe and Alejandra Baltodano believe in the responsibility of architecture to make spaces that are good for people. Architecture shouldn't be about the ego of the artist. The responsibility of architecture is to be a catalyst for people to create amazing spaces. http://homestylegreen.com/126

If you're at all interested in building a better place to live, you need to start with good foundations. There are other solutions out there, but MAXRaft offers the only complete system here in New Zealand that is fully insulated. The resulting slab has an impressive R-value of up 4.5, about three times the standard. For an investment of only about 10% above the standard slab price, this is well w...

Dr Johann Bernhardt originally came to New Zealand, expecting to stay for a year. That was about 30 years ago. In that time, Johann has made his mark on the sustainable architecture landscape, producing an impressive portfolio of energy efficient homes, running the Auckland office of the Building Biology and Ecology Institute (BEE), lecturing sustainable design at the University of Auckland and pr...

Eric Corey Freed is no stranger to being interviewed. As author of 11 books, an architect, keynote speaker, consultant and sustainability thought leader, he's appeared on numerous stages, screens and in written columns.   In 2005 he was named "Best Green Architect" by San Francisco Magazine and in 2012 was named as one of the "Top 10 Most Influential Green Architects". I hope you too are inspired...

Elena Michel travelled to England to learn the art of sustainable architecture. Through her practice, Second Eden Studio, Elena now provides an alternative to the 'McMmansion' and is bringing a global perspective of sustainable design to North Carolina. http://HomeStyleGreen.com/122 http://www.secondedenstudio.com

Ever noticed how people always seem to 'turn up' in the kitchen? Chris Larson definitely noticed this and has developed the concept of the sociable kitchen as a principle of his house design philosophy. He's also in to making passive solar homes beautiful, which I love. http://homestylegreen.com/121 http://chrislarsonarchitect.com

Why is a regular developer interested in producing a zero energy house in New York? http://www.kane-aud.com/

Kelly Hart is an amazing thinker and innovator. He's passionate about the environment and generous with the resources and learning he shares.  http://homestylegreen.com/119

Jae Sabol is a man on a mission involving open source, community based, sustainable building for 'The Highest Good of All'.  http://onecommunityglobal.org/ http://homestylegreen.com/listen

Lindsay Roberts is the show director for Greenbuild, the premier conference and expo for the green building movement.  Organising Greenbuild is a 12 month long process, so running the annual event is pretty much a full time job for Lindsay. I thought I'd catch up with her just prior to registrations opening so you've got plenty of time to secure your early bird tickets and join the buzz.  In 2015,...

Concrete slab edge insulation is one my hot topics. It seems to spark debate, firstly about if it's worth doing, then secondly about  how to do it . I recently spoke with manufacturer and experienced business owner, Mike Peters of Fort Wayne, Indiana who's come up with an easy solution for builders to cut heat loss at the slab edge by up to 88%. http://homestylegreen.com/116 http://insulslab.net/

What's the difference between HRV and ERV? Grant Anderson is the National MVHR Manager at Fantech. (What's MVHR? Listen in to find out!) Please feel free to contact me if you'd any help with choosing a ventilation system, matthew@homestylegreen.com You can also find Grant and his team at Fantech, http://bit.ly/1FDK1PT http://homestylegreen.com/115

Peter Olorenshaw has been developing his passion for passive solar design for over 21 in Nelson, one of New Zealand's sunniest spots. While has does practise architecture elsewhere, like his designs, he prefers to keep it local. http://homestylegreen.com/114 http://www.peteroarchitect.co.nz/

How do you find the right products to build a net zero, LEED certified, Living Building Challenge, or simply a healthier, more sustainable home? Standardising product information and storing it all in one, easy place was the reason why GreenWizard was started. It's a Building product management solution to help you find sustainable products. http://homestylegreen.com/113 https://www.greenwizard.co...

What's the link between durability and sustainability? Brett Little explains that there's no point in building a zero energy house, if it only lasts a few years. The Green Home Institute is focussed on empowering people to make healthier and more sustainable places to live. Working closely alongside the the USGBC, the Green Home Institute offers services to help with LEED for Homes Certification a...

Andrew Stephenson has always seen architecture as a unique opportunity to turn people's dreams into reality.  Living in a luxury bus with a family of five, and studying permaculture, has given Andrew some great inspiration for multi-function spaces and features. He now incorporates this thinking into his designs to make stylish and sustainable homes.  http://homestylegreen.com/111 http://www.bells...

How do you make a power plant in the middle of an urban setting, look interesting and attractive? And what's that got to do with designing sustainable homes? Peter Hogg and Toby Reed are award winning, Melbourne based architects and I spoke with Peter about why he does what he does.  Be sure to check out there website for more about their recent projects, including the spectacular Precinct Energy...

Marnie Oursler used to sell houses. Now she designs and builds them and runs a successful company doing so. What I found most inspiring talking to Marnie, was that she knows how to have fun while creating a spectacular home. http://www.marniehomes.com/

How do you make a house sustainable? Talking to the team at Sustainability House would be a good start.  Sustainability House believe that all buildings should aim to have low embodied energy, use energy efficiently, generate electricity, collect and recycle water, be passively thermally comfortable and provide safe indoor air quality. Sounds reasonable.  But how do you do it? I spoke to Business...

Green Tomato Energy, based in Hammersmith London, is another example of a company fulfilling a fantastic need. They help people get set up with renewable energy technologies and they provide advice on low energy and Passivhaus building design. http://homestylegreen.com/107 http://greentomatoenergy.com/