SHaC Aims

1. To find and suggest better solutions that support practical and sustainable ways of living for New Zealanders right across the country. Innovation and creative thinking are vital to this process.
2. To encourage collaboration and working together - across departments within tertiary institutions, between neighbours, between professionals and researchers and local councils. Good collaboration relies on effective communication and the sharing of knowledge broadly.
3. To learn from a cycle of thinking and then doing, and then thinking... There are great opportunities here for students, lecturers, professionals and the community as a whole to benefit from the project.

What we hope to achieve

SHaC coordinators hope to achieve a number of things over the next two years:

• Encourage thinking and doing. Kiwis are great at producing practical solutions and having fun at that same time. Think of the bach or funding your OE. Harness that creative, can-do attitude for this challenge!
• Stimulate ideas for creating delightful, comfortable housing that’s affordable to purchase and live in.
• Create many examples of sustainable homes suited to their conditions across the country. Each community will work together to provide and build a home that is particularly suited to their social, cultural and environmental conditions.
• Promote research, innovation and integration of sustainable solutions to course curriculums around the country. This can be achieved by working closely with tertiary staff, ITO’s and research bodies.
• Help to make the ‘consenting process’ clearer and easier for the inclusion of sustainable solutions. This requires working closely with local councils and industry professionals.

Find out more about how SHaC works

Check out the SHaC 09 Judging Criteria