Small Smart Spaces is the standard designs created by Smart Living  Spaces Architectural Designer and Director Sharon Robinson. These designs are created to quality standards like The Passive House Standard and the Homestar Rating System. The reason for this is that simply having a home that is designed to the Building Code does not mean a healthy, comfortable home with lower mortgage, power and water bills. I view our homes as being the biggest investment we make in our lifetimes, needing them to support our financial wellbeing as well as our health and mental being. These things only happen when the design is intentional in creating it.

The purpose of the Concept Set is for you to get a sense of the design before investing further in the process. There may be things that you wish to customize to your unique requirements which can be done with a Customization Consultation.

To find the balance of sufficient information for you to understand the design but not too much that it becomes overwhelming and excessing, the following is included in the Concept Set. (please not Concept Sets cannot be used for Resource Consent, Building Consent or Construction)

To give you enough of an idea of the design the Concept package includes floor plans with basic dimensions, design sections and elevations, door and window schedules, 4 exterior perspective renders,4 interior perspective renders, the design outline specification and access to a 3D Design model. Only 30% of people can visualise off plans, so the design model is there to allow you to experience a Small Smart Space in Virtual Reality.

The Construction Set includes more detail of the Plans, Sections and Elevations. There are also construction details for the typical assemble details that are required to construct a Small Smart Space. This is a generic construction set that excludes project specific requires such as Energy calculations, Foundation Design and Bracing Design. As such this set gives you can information on the detailed design, but further project information is required for a Building Consent Application.

No, you cannot use the Construction set. The purpose of this set is to have a robust conversation with your builder, in collaboration with Smart Living Spaces to get an preliminary idea of cost and construction. In conjunction with purchasing a construction set, you will need a consent consultation and some additional work to be carried out for your project. If you are wanting Homestar Certification and Passive House Certification, this is the stage where additional detail and process is added.

Yes you do. There are rumblings in political circles about no building consent requirements for 60m2. The indications at this stage is that these designs will need to construct by an approved builder, the scheme which is yet to be proposed. It appears that the buildings will need to be designed to a standard called NZS3604. Small Smart Spaces doesn’t use this standard as it is not conducive to creating the level of healthy, comfortable and energy efficient designs is the Small Smart Standard.

The concept plans contain enough detail for you to make design decisions and changes within the Small Smart Spaces system.

The construction plans are more detailed instructions of how Small Smart Spaces is to be assembled.

The Consent Plans have sufficient project specific information for one of the Small Smart Spaces affiliated builders to give you an accurate contract price and present you with a building contract.

I understand that you want to make changes, so as part of the Small Smart Spaces, there is a customisation consultation available. This is after you have purchased your concept design and had a chance to become familiar with it.

At this customisation consultation we sit down and work out how changes to the design can be made within the Small Smart Spaces standards to still ensure that your new home will be healthy, comfortable and affordable.

Small Smart Spaces is a design and build collaboration. Key to any successful project, the relationship between the Architectural Design and Builder is one that critical.

Small Smart Spaces has affiliated builders which are part of the team. They are not employed by Smart Living Spaces; they are independent businesses who work alongside to deliver these projects. These builders have a passion for building better homes for everyday people and have upskilled in the industry to become Certified Passive House Tradespeople and the like. They understand how to build better than the conventional builder.

The reason for this collaboration is that as a separate business they are fully accountable for their reputation and there is massive incentive for them to make your Small Smart Space as success as possible.

No, currently you need consent for any dwelling. The 60m2 unconsented scheme is still in its consultation stage currently. Also the scheme is to be limited to specifically certified builders, the likes of which has yet to be developed.

Small Smart Spaces has affiliated qualified and licenced builders who have exclusive rights to build your project in the area that you live. They have been carefully chosen to reflect the knowledge, skill and experience that is required to produce a better preforming, healthy and comfortable home.

Yes you can talk directly with Sharon of Smart Living Spaces. Small Smart Spaces is different to a group home builder, because it is designs offered direct from the Architectural Designer to you. No middleman salesperson or company.

To have a chat with Sharon simply book a time for a call on the booking page on the small smart space’s website.

The best place to start is with a chat. I know this process can be filled with unknowns, so let’s answer your questions in real time with relatively to your situation.

I know you want to check to see if this is the right process for you and you want to get it right. Lets have a chat to see how Small Smart Spaces can work for you.

Small Smart Spaces is currently available in New Zealand. You can get your own Smal Smart Space designed and built anywhere in New Zealand.

Description goes hereYes! Sharon, the Architectural Designer of Small Smart Spaces is a Certified Passive House Designer. All designs have been designed with systems and products that work with Passive House requirements. All designs have been preliminarily checked in Passive House software to allow for more assurance when making your project Passive House Certified.

Learn more about the international Passive House standard here.

Yes! Sharon, the Architectural Designer of Small Smart Spaces is a Homestar design and assessor. The lowest level of specification Small Smart Spaces is a Homestar 6, which is above the minimum of the New Zealand Building Code. When you project is Homestar rated to at least a Homestar 6, better lending options can be unlocked, meaning Small Smart Spaces owners can have lower interest rates for their mortgages.

Understand more about Homestar here

Homestar ratings allow lending bodies to have better assurance about the quality and desirability of your home. Smart Living Spaces works collaboratively with Collab Mortgages to access better loan options that recognize the improved quality offered by Homestar and Passive House.