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Existing floor area: 110m2                              New floor area:  254m2

Designer:               Tony Biesiek – Imagine Building Design

Interior Design:      Imagine Building Design and Owner

Engineer:               Dorrien Andrews – Westpoint Consulting Engineers

Builder:                  Pepper Construction

The brief for this house was to alter and extend the existing cottage which was a jumble of styles into a modern family home with a Pasifika theme to show their collection of sculptures and artwork from around the Pacific. Good outdoor living and maximising the sea and bush views were top priorities. All with excellent sustainable design focusing on the 5 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Replace, Recycle and Rethink.

Reduce: Achieved with solar hot water heating, photovoltaic solar energy collectors with inverter to the network grid, wetback wood fire, inverter heat pumps, eco & LED lighting. R4 ceiling and R2.5 wall insulation, argon filled thermally broken aluminium windows. Water consumption reduced through low flow fittings. 

Reuse: 75% of the existing wall framing and subfloor retained.

Replace: The flooring is sustainable bamboo. The macrocapra cladding, eucalypt deck and sarking are all from sustainable locally milled plantations.  Numerous native plants have been planted, far in excess off those removed for site clearance.

Recycle: The insulation is 100% recyclable polyester. There is a recycling station for refuse.

 

Rethink: The whole process of decision making for design and construction to this home brought about a total rethink. Eg: selection of board lengths, waste skip usage and the use of rain water storage for irrigation. Also low embodied energy principles such as the custom designed metal cladding run locally saving on over 5 hours freight from an out of town supplier. 

Imagine Architecture
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About the
Professional

Imagine Architecture (formally Imagine Building Design) is a multi-award winning architectural design practice that has been in business since 2002 with specialist expertise in Residential and Commercial design. Our practice has evolved through many iterations over the years. From starting in a shoebox home office, to growing into occupying historic premises at the Kings Building in New Plymouth, then to a sleek downtown high street practice. We have now gone back to our roots with small studio setups for Tony Biesiek out of Think Co in Tauranga and Steven Dixon in New Plymouth.

​“Changing lives through great architecture & design”. That is the mission of Imagine Architecture. Since 2002, we have sought to infuse that mission into every project. Our designs are for high performance buildings that change lives. To achieve this, we combine aesthetics & energy efficiency with comfort & architectural appeal, function & use of space with quality interaction with the environment.

​This approach is applied across all our projects irrespective of size or budget. We believe there is opportunity in every project to make better choices. This is accomplished thanks to better decision making to improve the quality of the space experienced by its occupants. Merely meeting minimum building code requirements is not enough. Exceeding minimums is the key to better buildings, be they new architectural homes or commercial structures. Optimum performance ahead of minimum compliance every time. Architecture with attitude!

​Imagine Architecture aspires to uphold the Pritzker Architecture Prizewinner Glenn Murcutt’s ideal: ‘to touch the earth lightly’. This means we look at how nature has crafted the environment to this point in time, and form our design in relationship to that. For example, we have sculpted designs to the land, rather than the land to the design. Nature has brought us those spaces, so we strive to design structures to be harmonious with that nature. As custodians we seek to protect the environment through diligent stewardship and utilisation of the best high performance technology.

​Our experience in over 1000 commissions to date is wide and diverse. In addition to servicing Bay of Plenty and Taranaki, we have commissions throughout New Zealand and have projects in Australia and Italy. In this modern age, geography is no barrier to delivering architectural excellence. The Imagine Architecture team's track record shows an ability to adapt quickly to client changes, government legislation and technical site situations. We have specialist experience in:

​Residential homes and renovations

  • Sustainable and Energy Efficient architecture
  • Recreation & Parks facilities
  • Apartments & Townhouses
  • Mobility design and disabled access
  • Retirement homes
  • Gymnasia
  • Schools & ECE
  • Property development & investment units
  • Industrial facilities
  • Restaurant and retail design
  • Shipping Container buildings
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Motels and Motor Lodges

​Imagine Architecture promotes itself on the principle of “relationship marketing”. A large number of commissions come to Imagine Architecture by way of referrals from existing clients. This method of marketing reflects our philosophy of creating quality relationships with clients. This is achieved by friendly, clear and up front communication matched with a quality design service that meets the aesthetic, functional & financial requirements of the client.​

​Imagine Architecture is the experienced team to use if you are looking for innovative design that respects the environment, quality technical documentation, superior service through excellent communication.