Black Peak House

“E13 Windows excels, and are a delight to deal with." 
- Bryce Dunlop, Dunlop Builders

Architecture is an opportunity to contribute to a more sustainable society by promoting environmental design. The strategies involved in the sustainable design of the house Black Peak View project included designing for day-lighting, indoor air quality, passive solar heating, natural ventilation, energy efficiency, water preservation, renewable energy, and working with the contractor to minimise construction waste.

This property sits outside of the usual because it was built to airtight standards. This included building and internal tello wraps along with special breathable paper, taped-off on the inside with internal service cavities in the internal walls. The process is to then blow door test the property to suck air in or out of the house to ensure air tightness. The owners wanted this additional air tight feature due to the property’s location in Wanaka, and because air leakage is one of the biggest contributors to heat loss.

Airtight structures are energy-efficient. They ensure that the joint performs in an optimal manner. This reduces heating costs and CO2 emissions, and is thus beneficial from both a financial and a climate-protection viewpoint.

We worked with the architect and owner at the design stage, and then the builder at build stage to problem solve and work out the best way to incorporate our windows systems into their design. The final result is simply Wow!

The house has external doors that slide into cavities, for which we supplied detailed plans, along with internal courtyard joinery which had no corner posts, therefore it’s completely open. We also assisted with incorporating windows systems into their design. Thermal bridging of the glazing suite was a principle used for the positioning and detailing of the entire penetration. Windows are located in the “warm” part of the wall, not in the cavity, and were detailed with the Proclima airtightness system. The steel support structure was detailed to thermal break the bridge from the cold outside. The Pacific Thermal Suite used with Planitherm XN Low E double glazing, combined with the passive airtight construction to provide excellent thermal performance, will provide long lasting comfort for the future.

Positioned and built for the Wow factor, this house has an abundance of natural light, as well as stunning lake and mountain views to the North and West. This property is a finalist in the NZIA Awards, and is another impeccable quality project by Eliska Lewis Architects and Dunlop Builders.

As featured in ArchiPro

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