When opportunity arose to build his own home, Auckland Architectural Designer Richard Furze embraced the challenge by first rethinking the idea of what ‘home’ meant for him and his family and in doing so, introduced a new element into the efficiency equation – building with lifestyle in mind.

While respecting the aesthetics of a traditional suburban setting, Richard’s design reflected his desire to achieve balance between work and play, the new house needed to be in keeping with the aesthetic of the neighbourhood, both in terms of materials and building proportions, while at the same time support the active lifestyle he and his family enjoyed by minimising the time spent on maintaining it.

Having lived in the original ex-state brick and tile home for some time, Richard and his wife had an intimate appreciation of its pro’s and con’s. In taking the bold move to rebuild on the same site, they used modern versions of exterior cladding materials available when the original 1940’s house was built.

With long term durability and ongoing maintenance a priority, Richard selected a mixed palette of concrete block, brick and New Zealand made PALLISIDE® weatherboards. PALLISIDE® delivered several benefits during the construction phase. Supplied as a double profile board, ensured a quicker installation and reduced labour costs while being pre-finished during the manufacturing process meant the colour is right through the thickness of the weatherboard, eliminating the need for painting.

With a solid uPVC cellular foam core and tough, co-extruded uPVC outer layer, PALLISIDE® has been designed and tested to ensure excellent protection from New Zealand’s harsh climate and with the long term benefit of never needing painting, will enable Richard and his family to spend more time enjoying their leisure activities and less on house maintenance for many, many years to come.