Features
Each Build offers in-depth insights into two topics of interest to the building and construction industry.
Feature section: High-performance buildings
Changes are coming as the government backs healthier housing and reducing emissions. It’s time to respond with higher-performing buildings.
Articles in this section
Feature section: NZ's unique environment
Our narrow rocky coastline and climatic conditions inform where and how we build. Increasingly, an Aotearoa design is also emerging – architecture enriched by Maori design and culture.
Feature section: Supply chain
Although a booming building industry saw supply chain shortages emerge well before the global pandemic took hold, COVID-19 has exacerbated the situation, causing delays, increased costs and legal headaches.
Articles in this section
Feature section: Building for wellbeing
Understanding of the relationship between wellbeing and the built environment is growing, both in research and practice.
Articles in this section
Feature section: Weathertightness
While some of the issues have been resolved, leaky buildings haven’t yet gone away in New Zealand.
Feature section: Material durability
Building materials must be durable and stand the test of time. Research into how well they cope with our climatic conditions and how to chemically identify substituted materials are two major areas of study.
Articles in this section
Feature section: Net-zero carbon buildings
There is a clear call to meet the challenges of climate change, and the construction sector needs to respond now by moving to net-zero carbon design.
Feature section: Healthy homes
All New Zealanders should be able to live in warmer, drier, healthier homes. BRANZ is at the forefront in working to achieve this with its research integral to making positive change.
Feature section: Let's talk building controls
The building control system ensures our buildings meet certain minimum safety and quality requirements.
Feature section: Fire
The fire performance of building façades is a hot topic. Recent work has improved our understanding of how to test their fire performance, particularly in taller timber buildings, and is investigating other fire risks in buildings and fire safety in densified housing.