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Looking Forwards: Why NZ’s New Home Builds Need to Better Incorporate Future-proof Design Elements
With the ever-increasing effects of climate change hitting our homes, there has never been a more crucial time to ensure that New Zealand’s new homes are being built with an eye to the future.
While it’s true that some of the country’s new homes are being built with this notion of futureproofing in mind, many new home builds are failing to incorporate design and structural elements that will be suitable to face the effects caused by urban intensification and climate change.
As our cities see more and more residential and apartment style homes being built within close proximity to one another, a trend that is only going to continue as New Zealand continues to urbanise, the effects of urban intensification are going to be more acutely felt.
When natural barriers such as trees and green spaces are removed between buildings to make way for more development, the summer heat will bounce off of the synthetic materials such as glass or concrete, intensifying the day’s temperature down at the street level.
By taking a design approach that incorporates things like cross-ventilation between buildings, and a focus on ensuring the internal design of these urban homes allows for windows and doors to be placed across from one another to allow the passage of airflow, we can mitigate some of the inevitable effect of intensification.
The potential issues with denser housing stock and the materials used in these homes also extends to the colder months, with the increased amounts of concrete that is used for hard-surfaces and driveways creating a greater chance of surface run-off during a downpour which can potentially lead to surface level flooding.
A solution to this issue of surface flooding is considering incorporating some sort of sustainable urban drainage system, and rather than using concrete for all hard surfaces, builders should consider using both permeable concrete where applicable and green roofs on commercial and residential buildings.
These two design features will help promote efficient water run off by slowing down the flow of water from these surfaces and into the drains below.
Futureproofing is not just limited to combatting the effects of intensification and climate change, which are largely the responsibility of both the developer and respective building company, but it also includes thinking about more energy efficient in-home measures.
This is something that homeowners should look to embrace, as according to industry experts, there is likely going to be new legislation within the next few years that mandates that new and existing homes have to display their energy efficiency.
Homeowners can be proactive and begin futureproofing their homes before this legislation comes to pass and there’s a rush to respond to the measures. Doing simple things like adding double-glazing, solar panels, and efficient insulation will put homeowners in a good position looking forwards.
Following the pandemic, which saw a marked increase in interest for carbon-efficient and futureproof design preferences, some developers are actually already looking to actively incorporate futureproof elements in their new builds.
This is by including things like smart home features and putting solar panels on the roofs of residential buildings. Although a definite step in the right direction, this is only really being included in the more upmarket or boutique residential projects which sit firmly atop the ladder of economic viability.
If developers see that these futureproof design elements are both favourable and affordable, then we might see it begin to trickle down into more urban and sub-urban developments. That does remain something to be seen, however.
As well as incorporating certain futureproof elements into the design of new homes, some developers are also focusing on ensuring that they select sustainable materials in the construction of their new homes.
With materials such as metal, concrete, and brick being selected over weatherboard or plasterboard for the exterior surfaces of the home.
For many homeowners retrofitting can seem an appealing route to take and it is definitely more affordable initially, however by incorporating efficient and proven futureproof design elements into a new home build will benefit both the homeowner and the environment in the long run.
But futureproofing doesn’t end with housing design and construction, futureproofing involves the inclusion of green planted spaces and shared amenities that are available in the increasingly dense urban areas within our larger cities, where homes are standing taller and narrower than we’ve seen before.
It isn’t only the areas of dense urban housing that benefit from this modernising approach, with the inclusion of more green planted spaces and parks within our city’s suburbs an essential part of futureproofing living areas for all of our nation’s citizens.
When we consider intensified urban areas and the ever-increasing suburban sprawl, focusing on incorporating key design and construction elements as well as communal facilities and outdoor amenities is how we will best futureproof both our nation’s existing housing stock and the rapidly increasing new-housing stock.