Engagement

Projects and Clientele

Clients - Can be almost anyone with a building project, such as anyone looking to build a house, landlords, commercial building owners, architects, engineers, project managers, contractors, or developers.

Projects - Can be almost any type of building, such as small standalone dwellings, medium density terraced housing, large apartment blocks, recreation centres, offices, industrial sheds, retail, schools, universities, masterplans, new builds, and existing building renovations/ extensions/ fitouts.

Other - It's not only building projects that Ecolution can help you with. Any sustainability, product or related issue that you have could be suitable. For example, you may be developing a building product (e.g. insulation) or system (e.g. SIPs) and want to explore sustainability issues, opportunities, performance and certifications.

[Ecolution SBS]

Project Stages

Traditionally, a building project will consist of a 'design phase' and a 'construction phase', with work ending at 'Handover' to the client. It's becoming evident how important continued involvement into Occupation is to maximise effectiveness and efficiency of the installed systems. Further, consideration of how a building is treated at 'End of Life' should be incorporated during design (e.g. designing for disassembly and re-use, rather than demolition and sent to landfill). Ecolution can provide services and advice for both of these typically missed stages of a building's life and overall sustainability.

The simple maxim for integrating sustainability on a building project is 'the earlier the better'. Crucially, many decisions impacting building performance (many of which are not visible or obvious in the final product) are locked in near the beginning of the project. This is why an early conversation with Ecolution about aspirations and target setting is so important, ideally during Inception, development of the Brief, or Concept Design. Concept Design is arguably the most important Stage, as this is where the majority of passive performance measures are embedded and can't be changed during later Stages (without significant cost). Quite simply, sustainability is implemented most effectively and most cost-effectively at the beginning of the process, reversing across the lifespan.

Flow chart showing building project Stages, key efforts at each stage, declining sustainability potential and increasing costs to implement [Ecolution SBS]

Value

The value of using Ecolution for you as a client is the mix of quality, flexibility, and low cost. I come from a background of high-profile, reputable consultancies, so have a mentality of producing high quality work. As a sole operator I am not restricted by large business bureaucracy, enabling a strong balance of quality and flexibility, at a lower cost to you than other larger consultants.

As outlined above, the best value will be enabled with early project engagement. This is when all options are still on the table, and you can capitalise on my knowledge of which of those options best represent your project aspirations. While earlier is better, there is almost always opportunities to add sustainability features to a project, because most projects have not incorporated any measures beyond code minimum standards. As such even minor adjustments can have a useful and potentially valuable positive impact.

I'm a combination of designer and engineer, bringing consideration of aesthetic and functionality as well as performance and analysis. This means that while I might be conducting a technical task, say daylight modelling, I will also be able to provide effective recommendations on how to improve performance in ways that are complimentary to the architecture and clients values.

Finally, I am a career long exponent of sustainable design and a very practical person. So, while I am dedicated to environmentally responsible practices, I also acknowledge the issues of cost and complexity. As such it is my (very enjoyable) mission to find the most cost-effective and practical measures for your particular project.

Consultation

Ecolution offers a free of charge, no obligation, initial consultation. The purpose of this conversation is to understand the project, idea or issue you have, and determine what the possible and best courses of action are. It will also give you a chance to get a better idea of me as a person and professional, and whether we would work well together.

So please do get in touch so we can arrange a chat, either over the phone or a coffee if possible!

Engagement

Ecolution's role on your project could be arranged in a number of ways but will most likely be as a specialist consultant on a wider design team, or a sub-contractor to a contractor or architect. Whatever the project and work package, we'll find a suitable arrangement for everyone involved.

FAQs

Q: Where did the name Ecolution SBS (Ecolution for short) come from?

A: It is a combination of Ecology - i.e. the relationship between organisms (in this case, humans) to one another, and to their physical surroundings (in this case, buildings); and Solution - the core purpose of the business, to find solutions to your sustainable building issues and aspirations. It is also a nod to Evolution - my own aspiration to evolve sustainable building practices in NZ. 'SBS' stands for 'Sustainable Building Solutions', which again is exactly what the business provides.

Ecolution SBS

Tailored solutions for healthier, environmentally responsible buildings.

EcolutionSBS@outlook.com

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