On top of the gravel we laid a DPM plastic which was to go below the polystyrene sheets. We had to run to collect concrete blocks and block cut-offs to hold down the DPM from waving around and flying away in the wind before laying the polystyrene with blocks on top too.Next we bent the D12 steel... View full entry

Lastly the truck brought in a finer metal aggregate which would we had about a 50mm layer of, which was compacted to 50mm from the top (approximated from a 45 x 90 timber block placed flat on the perimeter of the floor). We then spread the aggregate evenly to compact and level. View full entry

Preparing the foundations for concrete pouring, the gravel needed to be poured on in layers and then compacted. This continued until the gravel was compacted and leveled to about 75mm from the top of the concrete block footings. View full entry

While we were working on the prefabrication of the build at the workshop at Unitec, on site excavation and the footings were being put down. When we turned up it was ready for us to prepare for concrete pouring. First we started with clean up and disassembling the stringline timber boundary... View full entry

Almost done. Working on wardrobes and installing shelving, rail bars, adjustable shelving fittings and drawer fittings. View full entry

Scotia, architraves and skirtings... Sanding, painting, drying and painting. A lot to do but cheesily: many hands make light work. View full entry

Today we made a start on assembling the kitchen cabinetry, tricky at the start, but once we got into the groove of things it was quite easy to understand. View full entry

Today we made a special visit to Blum who kindly sponsored us their kitchen fittings such as our cabinetry hinges, to drill the holes for the hinges to be attached to. Luckily despite the bad weather none of the gaboon for the kitchen cabinets got wet nor weather-damaged. View full entry

For the past few weeks the team has been working on the exterior cladding of the house. This has involved cutting, routing, priming, painting, putting the flashings in place and nailing. Accuracy and keeping the walls in square is key to the house being able to fit together properly when we... View full entry

The concrete truck was coming early so the boys had an even earlier start to the day - everyone in a rush to get the precast construction ready for pouring.They had constructed a temporary roof that will cover the concrete while it is drying. This is to protect it from Auckland's schizophrenic... View full entry

A 5am start before sunrise, we all met up at Orakei on site for a traditional Maori blessing of the land where we would eventually assemble our house.At sunrise we all met up again to begin working on setting up string lines, preparing the excavation lines for digging.  View full entry

Before we could fix any RAB board to the wall frames we needed to check that the wall was square and had not grown due to creeping measurements as we constructed it. Once we had check these we were able to apply RAB board to the exterior face of the walls in place of standard building paper. All... View full entry

With only a few wall frames left to complete we are almost done with the first step of the prefabrication process. Next we will move onto fixing rab board to the frames which will replace building paper. This is to ensure each wall panel is braced while being transported to site and erected. We... View full entry

Today we started the first step in our construction phase of studio 19. We began the day with a tutorial by James from crate construction on how to frame a wall. He went through nailing and cutting techniques, as well as important things to think about while framing the wall. We then proceeded to... View full entry

Before we were able to start building our design we had to take part in a site safety course. This was a good opportunity to get your head in the game! There are many hazards present on a construction that you need to be aware of. Main lesson was to be aware of your surroundings and to look out... View full entry

Friday August 1st, 2014Hoorah!Building consent was approved! We have to wait a while until we start building, but the hard yards are finally over! Now we look forward to steel cap boots, safety glasses, ear muffs with a kitted out tool belt and hammer in hand. No more long hours of what it feels... View full entry

Wednesday 4th June, 2014From Resource Consent to Building Consent, it's now down to the nitty gritty for our kaumatua house, the aim being to make it a buildable and plausible design. Our four teams continue to work on the four core areas, thus making our own groups: the floor team, the roof... View full entry

Wednesday 28 May, 2014An award winning converted warehouse space with deck and views to the CBD, our team went on tour through the new Rosebank Rd Blum showroom, an international company that specialises in the production of functional furniture fittings. The company's main product groups are lift... View full entry

From our third presentation to Ngati Whatua, we presented our refined design which explored interior materials and colour palettes on 'mood boards', as well as perspectives and plans. Perspectives and master plans, plan and section - Presentation Board. View full entry

Wednesday 7th May, 2014After a few weeks of contacting suppliers for materials, the interior team were hard at it choosing what colours and which materials to use for the interior fit out of the kaumatua whare. The team presented to the wider group a selection of choices, and once narrowed down... View full entry

After taking a broad range of design alternatives and amalgamating them into one design we presented this scheme to the clients. With a positive response from the clients and discussions about materials we will continue working to the detailed design for our next presentation. View full entry