Susanne Schade is a passionate advocator for sustainable design.
"As an architectural designer my work has a huge impact on our environment, and I strive to minimise the environmental impact of the buildings I design by recommending sustainable materials and energy efficient solutions to my clients."
Having over 20 years of experience as an architect in Europe and architectural designer in New Zealand, director Susanne formed Architecta to provide energy efficient and sustainable solutions within New Zealand.
We specialize in delivering architectural services for residential and commercial buildings, new builds, alterations and additions from the concept design right through to the project finish, while advising our clients about the newest technologies and construction methods. Our network includes all building related consultants that support us to achieve our goals.
With energy efficient housing becoming increasingly important within the building industry Architecta can offer solutions such as Passive House design creating a healthy, warm and dry interior environment, or Prefabrication minimizing the costs and duration of the building process.
At Architecta we are passionate about "Passive House Design".
A Passive House is defined as a building which can maintain indoor air temperature above the WHO recommended minimum of 18 degrees without any active heating or cooling systems. The house heats and cools itself, hence the term “passive “ Initially developed by the “Passivhaus Institut Darmstadt” in Germany (founded 1995) the Passive House concept has become the worldwide leading standard for energy efficient design and superior comfort.
Unlike the “Passive Solar Design” approach, a Passive House does not rely on solar gain and thermal mass.