About Us
We are designing and building this zero energy house for ourselves. Here's a bit of a background about us.
Jo Woods
Jo grew up in Cornwall, England and emigrated to New Zealand in 2007. She has always been very aware of environmental and social issues, and extremely focused on doing something about it. Jo would like to see all NZ homes well designed to improve the comfort and health of people living in them and minimise their effect on the environment.
Jo received two Masters Degrees with Honours from Imperial College London in Materials Engineering and Advanced Computational Methods. Jo has worked in a number of fields including aerodynamics, building structural engineering and solar energy systems design, before her current position as an Associate at e Cubed Building Workshop where she heads up the sustainable design team in Auckland.
Building this house is a long term goal for Jo.
Jo has worked to define the environmental sustainable design (ESD) initiatives and model the thermal performance of the house. We would like to acknowledge the support from e Cubed Building Workshop for the resources and knowledge which have greatly assisted the design process.
Shay Brazier
Shay grew up and studied in Auckland, travelling and working in France, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and London before returning to New Zealand in late 2006. He has always had an interest in environmental issues but only really appreciated the magnitude of them after living in Europe where the effects of human activity are obvious on a daily basis.
Shay has a degree in Mechanical engineering from Auckland University. He worked as a development engineer at Fisher and Paykel appliances, a super yacht engineer and a solar building product and system designer, before establishing Southern Perspectives, a renewable energy consultancy focused on solar for buildings in 2006. Southern Perspectives merged with SolarCity in 2010 and now operates as the consulting arm of the SolarCity. Shay was on the Board of the Sustainable Electricity Association (SEANZ) between 2007 and 2009 and represented SEANZ on the joint Australian and New Zealand EL-042 standards committee for renewable energy systems.
Shay has worked to identify the energy requirements of the house and design the renewable energy systems that will allow the home to achieve zero net energy consumption. The resources and knowledge gained through Southern Perspectives and SolarCity have made this possible.
www.southern-perspectives.co.nz | www.solarcity.co.nz
A Studio Archiects
We have engaged A Studio as the architects for the project. Kendon and Jennifer have done a brilliant job working with us to design an inspiring home that meets our vision.
A Studio is a multi-disciplinary design practice, primarily focused on architecture. The directors, Jennifer Hanson and Kendon McGrail, are registered architects, with collectively over 30 years in the industry.
A Studio is passionate about design and architecture. Both directors enjoy working collaboratively with clients and consultants to explore ideas and realise projects.
Kendon and Jennifer are motivated to investigate design solutions that enable a symbiotic relationship with the environment. The ZEH project presents an excellent opportunity to explore possibilities.