Step towards launch for sustainable housing challenge

The New Zealand sustainable building competition, SHaC09 will tour the country next week with project coordinators updating tertiary organisations on the progress of the project.

SHaC 09 asks tertiary students and staff to create and inspire solutions to the challenges of sustainable living for the benefit of the whole community.

The project will have teams develop a vision of living with less reliance on large quantities of resources. They will design, develop and build a home that supports and encourages the low-carbon, low-impact lifestyle.

Designs will be shared through public awareness campaigns, culminating in a presentation of their strategies, innovation and outcomes at a symposium in Dunedin, New Zealand in late 2009.

Teams are likely to require input from a wide range of disciplines including architecture, design, communication and construction. This may require partnerships to be forged between two or more tertiary organisations and contributions from professionals.

“The aim of this challenge is to get tertiary students to work together in a real-world scenario and engage our communities in the need to make market choices and lifestyle changes that reduce our carbon footprint,” explains Alistair Regan, group manager of creative technologies at Otago Polytechnic.

“Although competitive in nature, the aim of the challenge is to discover and share ideas and information about the sustainable lifestyle choices available to us as a nation.”

Teams will have until May 2008 to submit their formal application for entry, and if successful will receive a small stipend to kick-start their project.

The challenge is being developed by Otago Polytechnic with the support of the Ministry for the Environment Sustainable Development Fund. For more information, visit http://www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/shac09.