Set to be the first positive-energy, sustainable, eco-home built in an urban environment in New Zealand, this four-bedroom abode in Atawhai, Nelson, makes hard work look good!

Not just a beautiful, healthy place for its growing family of four, the clever property also produces power, collects water, recycles grey water and is on its way to providing the occupants with most of their fruit and veges. Thermally broken foundations support a coloured polished concrete floor; a heat pump-driven under- floor heating system keeps the winter blues away. Thermally broken framing and windows as well as high-quality insulation do their bit too. Cleverly designed to sit on a very steep site, the home’s volumes shade each other in summer as the sun moves from east to west, all the while utilising passive solar design and maximising views of Nelson Bay, past the lighthouse and port. A modernist, mid-century architectural influence is observed inside and out. Interior design has turned this hardworking house into a home.