Home & Leisure Show: July 01, 2019

home & living | 64
Though it meant
reconsenting
and additional
expense, the
Krishnamurtis say
one of their best
decisions was
upgrading from
Shadowclad to
long run standing
seam iron.
For decades people stayed clear of
Christchurch’s ‘Hospital Hill’, home
primarily to the 10,000 tubercolis
patients treated at one of three
Cashmere Sanitorium hospitals.
There were just two houses, located on a rare flat part of the
hill, one belonging to the hospitals’ Superintendent on Major
Aitken Drive behind a landmark giant hedge. In the 1990s the
hill was reimagined as the Broad Oaks subdivision and soon
attracted high end housing development. And in December
2016, Susanna and Sridhar Krishnamurti found themselves
unexpectedly acquiring a slice of the parcel of land and
panoramic view the San’s Superintendent once enjoyed.
The couple had wanted to live on the hill for a long time.
“We had had enough of being cold in our old weatherboard
home on the flat and really wanted a hill view,” recalls Sridhar.
They’d looked at close to 100 hill properties without finding
a home that met their checklist. Along with great views, they
particularly wanted a floorplan that would enable them both to
work from home and receive clients.
Then one sleepness night Sridhar began browsing real estate
websites at 4am and there it was. He’d clicked on the view of
their dreams: an arresting panorama of autumnal Christchurch
as the sun rose over the snow-clad alps beyond. He was looking
at a listing for a sought-after flat section with easy drive on
access and all-day sun. The hedge was all that remained of
the Superintendent’s home. They would need to build new.
Undeterred, “we went into the auction with intent!” says Sridhar.
The couple then spent a year researching the perfect design
and materials for their “lifetime” home with the aim of building
‘green’. When an episode of Grand Designs profiled SIPs or
Structural Insulated Panels, Sridhar determined “I want our
house to be built out of those”.
SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) are an innovative
building product, replacing traditional timber
‘stick’ framing with stronger, thermally efficient
composite panels sandwiching an insulating layer
of foam. Suitable for walls, floors and roofs, SIPS
create an airtight building envelope that requires
less energy to heat and cool, allows for better
control over indoor environmental conditions,
and reduces construction waste. They facilitate a
constant temperature of 18-20°C which, combined
with a 4.8kW solar power system, gas cooking and
hot water, and a heat recovery ventilation system,
means the Krishnamurtis can expect minimal
power bills.