Graeme North

Graeme carries out consultancy incorporating the use of local natural materials and appropriate technology. This can range from helping you decide between various natural materials or building techniques that are appropriate for your project, through to review of the design of your building.

The basis of natural building is to lessen the environmental impact of buildings by using readily available, renewable, reused or recycled materials to build beautiful buildings while lessening the use of materials with major negative environmental or health impacts. This means avoiding as much as possible toxic wood-preservatives, Portland cement-based mixes, some paints and coatings and some plastics, particularly those containing harmful chemicals.

Appropriate technology means technology that is suited to time, place, culture and environment, using local materials to do useful work in ways that do the least possible harm, and this philosophy underpins our work.

Your building site needs to be carefully assessed for its orientation, views, access, solar orientation, microclimates, topography and other physical characteristics such as stability and wind shelter or exposure to make best use what the site offers and what your needs are, incorporated into a permaculture “livingscape”.

You can make an appointment to discuss your project and the various ways that may be offered to assist you to realise your dream of building a beautiful building that suits you and uses natural materials.

Specialist or peer review:
Services include specialist advice and/or peer review for other designers and/or Building Consent Authorities, or for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), as well as forensic investigation of building failures involving natural materials.

Mentoring:
Mentored or guided owner-building is the key to affordable housing along with encouraging environmentally responsible smaller buildings.

*Fee Structure: *
Fees can be worked out in various ways depending on the project.

Life can be filled with many very interesting conversations with many people, so in order to pay the bills there may be a nominal fee for answering queries by email or phone, or an initial office consultation.

Fees are exclusive of GST plus any out of pocket expenses or disbursements.