Design for people, design for the planet and design for the future

School of Architecture, Vivian Street, Wellington
Wednesday 6 September, 6pm

Professor Gordon Holden, Head of Victoria University School of Architecture and Professor John Storey, the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Design at Victoria University; the organiser of this exhibition and course tutor, Maibritt Pedersen Zari; Don Riesterer, Chairman of Zero Waste New Zealand Trust Board; Charles Willmot, Board Member of the Waste Management Institute of New Zealand (WasteMINZ); Victoria University School of Architecture students, special guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Good evening.

It is a pleasure to be here this evening for the ‘Closing the Loops – Making Materials from Waste’ exhibition.

What I see here tonight is the future of a modern, thriving discipline.

This is an exciting time to be joining the design and building industry – not least because it is currently undergoing the biggest transformation in its history. Change is occurring on all levels, from how and what we design and build, to the way we inspect that the job has been done properly.

The reasons for this are clear – change was needed. Major problems such as leaky buildings were the result of the de-regulation of the building industry in the 1990's, where anyone could strap on a tool belt and call themselves a builder, and the deliberate destruction of the apprenticeship system at that time, plus some poor design work and slack inspection regimes.

I am pleased to say that we are getting back on track. The apprenticeship system is being rebuilt (currently there are more than 1200 building and construction modern apprentices and more than 7800 building and construction industry trainees).

This Government has also introduced a suite of measures to help ensure that buildings are designed and built right, the first time. These include the licensing of those who design and build whilst at the same time protecting the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) culture, an auditing and accreditation scheme for Building Consent Authorities, the investigation of a home warranty insurance scheme and building product certification, plus a major shake-up of the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service, so owners of leaky homes can get compensation off the liable parties and get their houses fixed faster. We are truly on the way to recreating a world-class building and design sector in New Zealand.

In this new quality-focussed environment, there are many opportunities in the workforce for well-educated and ambitious people, be it in design, construction or research.

There are also many challenges.

Waste

Waste from construction and demolition activities represent as much as half of all waste generated in the country - 20 percent of all waste going to land-fill and 80 percent of all waste going to clean-fills.

The New Zealand Waste Strategy has set a target of a 50 percent reduction in construction and demolition waste being sent to land-fills by 2008. The Ministry for the Environment is leading government work in this area. The strategy seeks to shift investment from merely managing waste disposal to more efficient use of materials and resource recovery.

Other projects are also supporting that shift. The Ministry for the Environment and the Department of Building and Housing are setting up a Smart Build project and website, which is expected to be launched in 2007. Smart Build will extend the work of the Resource Efficiency in Building and Related Industries project, which offers practical solutions at the design, construction, landscaping and demolition stages to minimise waste, and to promote sustainability in all aspects of building practice.

Another initiative is the National Construction and Demolition Waste Reduction Project that was set up in 2003 through the collaborative efforts of the Ministry for the Environment, local authorities and building industry members, to develop tools to assist councils, the industry and communities to reduce waste in landfills and cleanfills. Plus there is the work of the Zero Waste New Zealand and the Waste Management Institute of New Zealand (WasteMINZ).

Clearly there is a lot of work going on to address this important issue around the country. The collaborative nature of these projects emphasises the fact that the challenge of minimising building site waste cannot be achieved by the Government alone. People in many fields have to be on board, and we need to keep innovation flowing so we find new ways to do things better and smarter. Your exhibition here tonight is the perfect illustration of how thinking outside the square will help us reach our goal of sustainable buildings and a world-class building sector.

Sustainable Design

As I mentioned, sustainable building practices start long before the stages of reusing or recycling materials. It begins at drawing board. Which is why the Government's current review of the New Zealand Building Code is so important because this is the blueprint that you - as this country's future architects - will work off. The Code defines the overall performance standards that buildings must meet. Yet it also has the flexibility to allow for innovation, by not rigidly determining how we get there.

This is the first substantive review of the Code since its introduction in 1991, and the questions it raises are crucial in determining our homes and buildings of the future. It asks questions about what we want from our buildings. What we can afford. How can we best respond to our changing physical and social realities?

Auckland has a different climate and living patterns than Invercargill – how should an Auckland apartment reflect its environment, compared to a Southland house? How should the performance requirements vary in relation to insulation, for example?

The review asks the big questions of how do we balance economic, environmental and social costs for a sustainable future? It comes down to practicalities. Words like sustainability and resource come down to decisions such as how you deal with construction waste, and what kind of hot water cylinder you use. Efficient showerheads can save up to nine litres of water per minute for example.

As future architects and designers, you should be looking at the big picture. Are you making the most use of natural light for example? Not only do pro energy efficient choices make our buildings healthy and pleasant to live in, they also affect our bottom line, in terms of lower power bills and capital value being added to the dwelling.

I am told that a Beacon Pathway project called the NOW Home that was built in 2005 to a highly energy efficient design, uses approximately 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less water than similar sized homes in the area. BRANZ has estimated that if all Kiwi homes were as efficient, the savings would be $510 million a year.

One of my major goals as Building Issues Minister is to see the development of a long term mindset. How many building professionals, or homebuyers for that matter, look at energy usage, water usage and waste disposal when purchasing or designing a new home? We all know the answer – very few – and that is something I want to change.

Leadership

On that point, I am very pleased to note the motto of this course - to "design for people, design for the planet, design for the future".

As budding architects, designers and building scientists you have a responsibility and a real opportunity to do exactly that - again, to design for people, design for the planet and design for the future.

We need dissemination of best practise. We need innovation and strategic thinking to drive better standards and to create better buildings for everyone. The groundwork has been laid for a world-class building industry in New Zealand, and there is no reason why the good old Kiwi can-do attitude cannot make us leaders in sustainable building design and construction.

What I see here tonight is the promise of a sustainable future. The exhibition pieces are impressive, and I congratulate you all on their preparation. I look forward to seeing this innovation translate out into the New Zealand buildings of the future.

Innovate. Lead. Design for the people, the planet and our future.

And on that note, I am proud to declare this ‘Closing the Loops – Making Materials from Waste’ exhibition open.