Looks aren't everything

Architectural awards are generally given soon after completion of a house and so the awards tend to be a reflection of the appearance of a building rather than its performance. The houses may look sexy but how do they perform? We analysed the environmental performance of award winning houses in New Zealand over the last 50 years to see if designers are becoming more aware of the importance of energy efficiency or learning from the information that has been made available from BRANZ, EECA and others concerning improved energy performance and the implications of climate change.