This high-performance building has been renovated to world leading standards for warmth and comfort, and at the same time pays respect to the past by retaining and enhancing the character of the existing home.
Located in Christchurch, New Zealand where the climate range is approximately -4 deg C (25 deg F) to 25 deg C (77 deg F), one of the primary project outcomes was a warm and comfortable home for our family of five to live for many years to come.
The inability of an existing 1930s bungalow to achieve that comfort outcome is unsurprising and necessitated a major refurbishment. Passive House was adopted because it is a world leading building standard for residential homes.
The house was significantly damaged during the 2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence and we purchased the land and building in 2016. The existing building needed extensive modernising to meet the needs of modern family living and a proposal to refurbish the existing house and incorporate a newly designed and very modern extension was embraced with enthusiasm.
Passive House Institute certification was achieved in 2021. A Green Building Council Homestar 'built' rating of 8 was achieved in 2022.
WOODFORD: is the name given by the very first owner reflecting the suburb he grew up in London. The name Woodford is placed at two locations on the existing building, one is carved into the wooden Woodford Arch in the Leather Lounge and the other is the foundation stone that is now laid in the brickwork near the front door.
GRACE: is the name we have given the new part of the building and reflects the graceful design as well as acknowledging the our second daughter who was stillborn. The name Grace is carved into the stonework on the outdoor fireplace under the Pavilion.
Together, the home is titled Woodford Grace that symbolises a coming together.
A principal design philosophy of Woodford Grace is the ability to contrast between different design elements and harmonise across the wider design. It is the success of Woodford Grace to be able to traverse this difficult route that adds to its intrigue and differences it from the more common new builds.
The exterior cladding weatherboards are placed horizontally on the old house and vertically on the new house.
The old house is two levels versus the new house being one level.
The new house has a pent and flat roof versus the old house has a traditional hip and valley roof.
The landscape on the new part of the house includes modern shapes and materials, versus the old part of the house that is a traditional design reflecting its heritage.
The Woodford stone is placed on the south, versus the Grace stone being placed on the north.
Internal doors on the older house are traditionally hung, versus the new house where they are typically sliders.
The driveway in deliberately messy and organic in design, versus the structure of the old and modern parts of the home.
The colour of all the weatherboards is uniform.
The flooring materials are common being wooden floors or carpet.
The roofing material for both the pent as well as the hip and valley rood is the same being long run iron.
Our team of design and construction professionals produced an amazing lifetime experience for our family and one we expect will give us many years of enjoyment.
Some of the highly recommended members of the team that went above and beyond just good, include:
