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Superhomes + Super landscapes!

The Canopy team has just joined the Superhome Movement - a national organisation promoting sustainable, innovative and affordable buildings. 

As the lone Landscape Architectural member in the movement Canopy look forward to helping demonstrate how sustainable design strategies can extend from a home out into the wider landscape. We will be promoting appropriate plant and sustainable material specifications, water smart design and designing to minimise ongoing maintenance requirements and costs. 

Canopy Christchurch was recently invited to prepare landscape concept plans for the Homestar 10 houses in Addington Christchurch. Designed by Bob Burnett Architecture, these were the first homes awarded 10 stars in New Zealand and are now being used as exemplar show homes for the Superhome Movement. 

Our proposed plan for the tight urban infill site was a predominantly native planting scheme incorporating species that have edible and/or medicinal values along with space for traditional fruit and vegetable plants. Strict Homestar impermeable coverage limits were met with use of permeable paving, gravel and decking areas that allowed rainwater infiltration while grey-water recycling and rainwater barrels maximised water use efficiency. 

Tuesday 05.03.16
Posted by gabe ross
 

Canopy Christchurch Team is Growing!

Paul Roper-Gee - Landscape Architect Extraordinaire!

Paul Roper-Gee - Landscape Architect Extraordinaire!

Max's Pipe Dream - Supreme Judges Award Ellerslie International Flower Show 2012 (Completed with Beca)

Max's Pipe Dream - Supreme Judges Award Ellerslie International Flower Show 2012 (Completed with Beca)

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View Paul Roper-Gee's profile on LinkedIn

Canopy is excited to welcome a new team member to our Christchurch office!  Award winning Landscape Architect Paul Roper-Gee has joined the team bringing with him 16 years of experience in garden, streetscape and urban design. 

Paul won ‘Best in Show’ – the Supreme Award at the Christchurch based Ellerslie International Flower Show in 2012 for his garden ‘Max’s Pipe Dream’.  Other recent project work of Paul’s includes the redevelopment of Port Vila’s central waterfront in Vanuatu, Christchurch Coastal Pathway and Beach Road streetscape in Auckland’s CBD.

 Paul gets his kicks from creating comfortable spaces for people to live, work and play in and is inspired by natural landscapes and the everyday urban environment in his design. He enjoys working collaboratively with clients, stakeholders and other design disciplines to see a project develop from early ideas through to implementation.  Outside of work you’ll find him busy in his home garden, enjoying time with family, or attempting to bowl leg spin in his social cricket team.

 Paul is enthusiastic about joining the Canopy team and looking forward to working with clients on their residential and commercial design projects.  You can get in touch with Paul on 021 447 191 or paul@canopy.co.nz

Beach Rd Cycleway, Auckland CBD. (Completed with Beca/Thresher Associates)

Beach Rd Cycleway, Auckland CBD. (Completed with Beca/Thresher Associates)

Paul's home garden

Paul's home garden

Christchurch City Mall - Cashel St (Completed with Isthmus)

Christchurch City Mall - Cashel St (Completed with Isthmus)

tags: Paul Roper-Gee, Team, Christchurch
Thursday 03.10.16
Posted by gabe ross
 

Urban Pooches

http://weknowawesome.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/pug-tube-slide.jpg

http://weknowawesome.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/pug-tube-slide.jpg

Dogs aren’t typically a key driver for urban design decisions. After all who wants noisy messy 'fur babies' running around pooping, peeing and barking though our streets and parks?? 

However after coming across some interesting studies (c/o of a self professed ‘crazy dog guy’) there seems to be some pretty compelling reasons for designers and developers to consider incorporating per friendly features in our urban areas. Key ideas that stuck in my mind were:

Pet ownership has been demonstrated to provide many health and wellbeing benefits as a result of greater physical activity and improved community socialisation (i.e. walking the dog and having ‘Oh what a cute Doggie’ interactions with neighbours). A 1995 UOM study came up with some preliminary estimates that this can decrease health expenditure in the order of 2.5-5% which based on Australian spending of 8% of GDP at the time equated to benefits in the order of $790 to $1.5 billion.

http://www.petnet.com.au/sites/default/files/10064_1.pdf

A body corporate ban on dogs in an upmarket apartment complex on the Gold Coast triggered a successful challenge by two residents who compiled evidence from real estate data that a pet friendly property can be worth as much as 10% more vs. pet free equivalent. In the case of this multimillion dollar apartment that pooch can be quite an asset.

http://www.petsinthecity.net.au/power-pets

Something to think about next time you are cleaning turds off your front verge!

Wednesday 09.30.15
Posted by gabe ross
 
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