Eco Building and Design

Articles

Principles of Ecological Building and Design (121K PDF, Building Biology and Ecology Institute) - The 25 priciples of Ecological Building and Design: Ecological, Biological, Spiritual and Social

Buying a House? (125K PDF, Building Biology and Ecology Institute) - Guidelines for finding the healthiest one possible from our existing housing stock.  Where should my new house be?  How old or new should my new house be?  What would be a good type of house to choose?

Living Lightly on the Land (126K PDF, Building Biology and Ecology Institute) - Your House as Part of an Ecosystem: siting the building, earthworks and site modification, choosing your building materials, the construction process, energy use, water and wastewater, general waste.

Household Safety (241K PDF, Waitakere City Council) - Unfortunately our homes are where we are most likely to be injured. By far the most common type of home injuries are accidents, but we also suggest some ways you can plan for security against crime.

Avoiding Construction Waste (68K PDF, Waitakere City Council) - You can save yourself money and reduce your impact on the environment by considering resource use and waste generation during the design phase of a building project.

Site Earthworks (154K PDF, Waitakere City Council) - Bare soil is picked up by rainstorms and carried away. A certain amount of erosion is natural, but an exposed earthworks site can generate a thousand times more silt than an undisturbed site.

Building in the bush (176K PDF, Waitakere City Council) - The Waitakere Ranges are home to a wide variety of animal and plant species. Two-thirds of all the native fern species of New Zealand are found in the Waitakeres, as are one-quarter of all native flowering plants. Many of these are rare.