The primary premise for the Healthy Home Cooperation is that it takes many hands working in cooperation to build a healthy home. Hence the hands in the logo!
They say "no person is an island" and it holds true that no business is an island either.
These are a few of our favourite people that we work with, who believe in us and what we do.
DESIGNERS
Upper North Island
Sustainable Architecture
https://www.sustainablearchitecture.co.nz
Vlada Acimovic
We’ve worked with Vlada on many healthy homes. Being an European trained Engineer of Architecture and Engineer of Energy Efficiency, as well as a Certified Passive House Designer, Vlada just knows how to create a high-performance home. Because of this he has designed many high-performance and Passive Houses in New Zealand.
“I have had a privilege to work with Damien on many high performing or Passive House projects. He would always provide an excellent structural design service including a Superior Passive House Design knowledge. Having Damien as a part of the design team is a big asset,” says Vlada.
Central North Island
Sqweird
https://ehaus.co.nz/designer/stewart-milne/
Stewart Milne
We’ve worked with Stewart on a number of Hawkes Bay projects and really enjoy his style of work and his inherent understanding of what makes a healthy home. Stewart shares a common interest in educating clients on how to surpass NZ building Code minimum requirements to a achieve a better home.
Stewart says “Working with an engineer who simply put “gets it”, appreciates and applies the principles into a design required for performance housing such as eliminating thermal breaks and the reduction of timber is equally important as the engineering structural design. Damien’s team collaboration is a great asset to any project.”
Lower North Island
Mac Architecture
https://www.macarchitecture.nz
Jason Macquet
Jason Macquet and Damien McGill share a passion for Passive House SIPs. We did our Passive House designer / consultant course together and were both on the inaugural designPH course, learning how to integrate SketchUp, designPH and PHPP. Jason’s thoroughness and attention to detail is a great asset.
“Damien skillfully integrates the structural design without compromising the thermal performance of the home”, says Jason.
Upper South Island
Warren Clarke Architecture
https://www.wca.co.nz
Warren Clarke
Warren and Damien share a love for high-performance homes and roast dinners. Warren designed and lives in a 10 star home that six years on from moving in, is still cutting edge with acoustics that many recording studio’s would be envious of. Warren’s easy going manner, and can do attitude is what makes him fun to work with.
“Damien has such an incredibly passionate drive, for understanding the engineering in the high performance homes. He has retro-fitted high levels of insulation and glazing to his own home and his investment properties. He lives what he believes, that everyone deserves the best quality, healthy, energy efficient home they can afford. To work with someone who has the passion to deliver the best possible outcome for your high performance home, Damien is the one to talk to”, says Warren.
Lower South Island
Cadence Architectural Design Ltd
https://adnz.org.nz/profile/adriantaylorAdrian Taylor
Adrian Taylor
Adrian and Damien did their passive house training together. Adrian is a big SIP fan for their simplicity and efficiency. Recently Adrian and Damien helped install the NZSIP panels for a house in Lauder, we worked on together. A former carpenter and joiner, Adrian brings a practical simplicity to all his designs.
Adrian says, “I’ve worked with Damien on several projects now, both before and after we embarked on our Passive House learning journeys. Working with others that share your aims & values and understand the basic principles behind creating healthy buildings makes the collaboration process so much simpler and more enjoyable, which I believe translates into better outcomes for our shared clients”.
“The recent NZSIP/Lauder build workshop was a great opportunity for us both to get hands-on with a project we’d been involved with the design of, which was a great opportunity to expand the range of our co-operation.”
ENGINEERS
Fifth Dimension Consulting Engineers
https://www.5dce.co.nz
Steve Healey
Our two companies have been cooperating since their inception, having both started on our own accord at the same time. Steve understands the importance of creating pragmatic solutions, that are on time and budget whilst being buildable on site. In partnership, we haven’t missed a deadline yet.
“Damien’s expertise in high performance homes and his understanding of how they are built, is a real advantage when designing these homes. It is imperative to consider thermal bridging in high performance homes, which is skilfully managed in our collaborative approach throughout the design phases,” says Steve.
Potius Engineering Consultancy
https://www.potius.co.nz
Andy van Houtte
Andy and Damien share an enjoyment of escaping the rat race and hiding out in the back blocks hunting and fishing, or at least we talk about it a lot! Andy is a well known and recognised timber expert, so his experience can be valuable when looking to reduce thermal bridging in large span structural elements.
Andy says, “Damien has always been a strong advocate for building healthy homes, and is at the forefront of cost effective, warm, sustainable design understanding.”
SUPPLIERS
NZSIP
https://nzsip.co.nz
James Clarke
NZSIP provide the biggest bang for buck when it comes to high performance panels in New Zealand.
James and Saffron are easy to work with, and James’ background as a builder. brings a practiced, practical view to every conversation. James & Damien both love the NZSIP build events, where we install panels for a new home, while providing education to all the attendees, on the benefits of high performance, healthy NZSIP homes.
James says “Damien is very driven in facilitating change to how we build in New Zealand. Bringing a wealth of knowledge to the table coupled with fostering a team environment you are in good hands with the Healthy Home Cooperation.”
MAXRaft
https://www.maxraft.co.nz
Henry Edney
MAXRaft have been supplying insulated slabs to the industry since 2012. in fact they have built over 3,500 of them. They are our go to for insulated slab design, and because we don’t design uninsulated slabs, we use them a lot. Henry grew up in the town in Hertfordshire, UK, that Damien lived in for 8 years while on his OE. We both share a love for watching cricket and rugby as well as high-performance homes.
Henry says “We have worked with Damien for a number of years as he has always shared our passion for high performing houses. Whether it was writing blog content for MAXRaft, collaborating at events, or providing engineering design packages for our clients, Damien is proven to be one of the industry leaders pushing for a better standard of housing in New Zealand.”
HEALTHY HOME COOPERATION
Healthy Homes for all Kiwis. Housing is about people. People working together in cooperation to provide Healthy Homes for people to live in.
Damien McGill: Engineering Happy Healthy Homes for People & Planet
