Bahareh Amiri
Bahareh is a licensed building practitioner with over 18 years of experience in commercial, residential, and educational buildings, both internationally and across New Zealand. She holds a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Architecture and is a Certified Passive House Consultant.
Her practice is shaped by a long-standing interest in sustainable architecture and energy-saving design. She welcomes the opportunity to take on challenging projects.
Belen Aseguinolaza
I am very passionate about doing this right the first time. The design awareness gained from the Passive House course, along with the building science tools, is present in every design since then. To me, just as we may not recall exactly what we did with friends on a particular day but will certainly remember how they made us feel, we will also remember how a certain design made us feel. So my ultimate goal is to create spaces that make people feel good when they live in / around them
Originally from Argentina, I trained as an Architect before becoming an Architectural Designer in New Zealand. I am currently an Architectural, Homestar and Passive House Designer working at Craft Homes
Ben Preston
Ben Preston is a co-founder of Living Systems Development, the developer behind Peachgrove East. A chartered engineering technologist that spent his early career working on large-scale commercial and mixed-use projects in the UK and Australia, he considers himself fortunate to have had exposure to a range of innovative and forward-thinking projects and the people behind them – and is now focused on leveraging his experience to enable betters ways of living together with each other and the natural world.
Launching Living Systems Development with Rick Fourie in 2024, their shared focus today is on building showcase projects that demonstrate that better approaches to housing and community development are not only possible in today’s market and context but preferable. Starting with Peachgrove East, they are working to demonstrate that such market differentiated options are better equipped to navigate the ups and downs of property market cycles in predictable, profitable ways.
Claire Tod
Claire is an Architect at Energy Architecture in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. She believes a warm, dry, healthy home is a fundamental human right. Passivhaus science should be the baseline for all buildings in Aotearoa.A graduate of Te Herenga Waka and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Claire’s non-linear journey led her to challenge the perceived perfection of the industry and design with empathy. She recently completed her own certified Passivhaus and appreciates the certainty it provides.
Guy Shaw
Igor Krasheninnikov
General Manager, Helicon Construction
For the past 10 years, I have led a dedicated team delivering well-crafted, high-performance buildings.
Helicon operates as Passive House–certified tradespeople and proudly hosted the International Passive House Open Days in 2021 and 2022. Since completing our first Passive House in 2021, we’ve shared that experience and enthusiasm with both clients and the wider professional community.
I’m passionate about improving building quality and everyday comfort. We aim to integrate energy-efficient principles into every project we undertake.
We choose to build Passive Houses because they offer superior comfort, significantly lower energy use (up to 90% less for heating and cooling), and an exceptional indoor climate. Through high-performance insulation and airtight construction, these homes are durable, quiet, and environmentally responsible—providing a healthier living environment and strong long-term value.
Jason Quinn
Jason Quinn is the founding director of Sustainable Engineering Ltd. His work focuses on the intersection of physics and building design and he has outspoken views on New Zealand housing. He has degrees in mechanical engineering (George Washington University, USA) and aerospace engineering (Florida Institute of Technology, USA) and is a registered International Professional Engineer (USA) and a Chartered Member of Engineering New Zealand.
Jason spent a decade as a rocket scientist at NASA before he and his family relocated to New Zealand in 2009. He soon became one of New Zealand’s first certified Passive House designers and in 2016 travelled to Germany for further training and exams to become the country’s first Passive House certifier. Jason is an in-demand speaker at Passive House conferences in Australasia and has taught courses for PHINZ, the Passive House Academy and the NZ Green Building Council.
Kara Rosemeier
Kara Rosemeier teaches building science for Sustainable Engineering Ltd.
She has previously served as Director of the Passive House Academy New Zealand, as well as Board Member and Chair of PHINZ. Her experience spans academia at multiple tertiary institutions in New Zealand and Germany, ownership of an engineering consultancy, and advisory work for a German federal state government on building energy efficiency.
She has also supported private clients with Passive House design and supervised hundreds of retrofit projects.
She holds a PhD in domestic air quality and ventilation, a Master of Planning Practice (Hons), and a Diplom-Ingenieur (FH) in Architecture.
Peter Wolfkamp
At the age of one, Peter picked up his tools for the first time and has never looked back. A fair few years on and Peter Wolfkamp LBP, NZTC, continues to share his impressive skills, knowledge and life-long passion for carpentry and building. His portfolio of work and influence includes historic Devonport villas, ultra-modern townhouses, rustic country estates, restoration of an historic 1890 church and a sabbatical which involved Peter working on a 16th century farmhouse in the south of France. Peter’s professional development has continued with the completion of the NZGBC Homestar Home Coach and practitioner training, plus Peter is a Licensed Building Practioner qualified by the DBH. Alongside this hands-on and, at times, finger-bruising vocation, Peter has carved out a career Newstalk ZB as a talkback host, presenting the Overnight talkback show and stepping in to host nights when needed over the last 25 years.
Known nationally as our Resident Builder, Peter hosts his own building and DIY Radio show on Newstalk ZB. “Sunday Mornings with the Resident Builder” 6-8am, which was launched May 2014. Peter is now NZ’s top DIY radio personality with a weekly audience of 198,000 and Newstalk ZB’s No1 show in every market. The programme includes taking questions from callers and offering advice on DIY projects plus ‘Ask the Expert’ segments from Professionals within their field. Peter’s TV career is building apace; Since 2012 Peter has been the site foreman for The Block NZ. ‘The Wolf’ as he’s referred to on The Block, brings a unique combination of construction and technical knowledge, along with hands-on chippy experience. Peter has also developed editorial and narrative skills that have proved useful to the production team. Peter launched of his very own TV programme, Creative Living on TV3 2016.
This series focused on the challenges and choices facing any homeowner as they transform their existing home into a warm, comfortable and efficient home for the future. Peter’s experience, knowledge and expertise helped assist the owners, and he even got his hands dirty as they worked to create a great renovation. 2017 Peter was also Co Presenter of a Property Program Slice of Paradise. Helping potential buyer find their own dream home within NZ. Peter has a wealth of knowledge to draw on, extensive experience on site, a passion for architecture and a sound technical knowledge of building and construction and combines that with presentation and editorial skills honed over many years. He strikes a chord with all levels of audiences, crossing age, gender, demographics, and more importantly, all levels of the industry, from humble home-based DIY-lovers to top end professionals. His extensive skills and knowledge are tempered and made accessible by his friendly, open approach and ‘the bloke next door’ no nonsense personality. Everyone loves ‘The Wolf’! Peter enjoys building relationships with all audiences and at all levels within in the building industry.
Phil Smith
Phil Smith is Director and co-founder of Smith Architects, an award-winning Auckland-based practice known for designing human-centred, sustainable architecture across Aotearoa. Since establishing the studio in 2007 with his wife Tiffany, Phil has led a body of work spanning education, housing, cultural and civic projects, with a particular reputation for innovative early learning environments.
Central to Phil’s approach is the belief that well-designed spaces can positively shape human behaviour, wellbeing, and long-term outcomes. This philosophy is expressed through the practice’s focus on “beautiful human spaces” — architecture grounded in care, refinement, and a deep understanding of how people experience place.
A defining project for the practice is Te Mirumiru Early Childhood Education Centre in Kawakawa. The project integrates Māori cultural narratives with advanced passive environmental design and achieved a 6 Star Green Star Education rating. It has been widely recognised internationally, including by the World Green Building Council Asia Pacific Leadership Awards, and is regarded as a benchmark for sustainable education design.
Phil’s work has received multiple national and international awards and has been published in leading platforms such as ArchDaily and Architizer. He brings a design-led perspective to conversations around density, housing quality, and the future of communities, advocating for outcomes that balance environmental performance, cultural response, and human wellbeing.
Tim Ross
Tim Ross is a Registered Architect and Principal of Architype, an award-winning New Zealand architectural practice specializing in the design of passive house buildings. He is the architect of many passive house and high performance homes and numerous certified multi-unit residential projects. Tim is passionate about creating design solutions which are technically integrated, economically achievable and visually compelling.
Toby Tilsley
Craft Homes Ltd
Toby is a qualified Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP), Certified Passive House Tradesman,
and Homestar® Practitioner with over 20 years of project management experience and 15 years
of hands-on expertise in residential construction. His extensive background combines technical
knowledge with practical skill, enabling him to deliver high-quality, efficient, and sustainable
building solutions.
His company, Craft Homes, is based in the Raglan and wider Waikato region and focuses on
Passive House and high performance residential construction. Toby is deeply committed to
advancing sustainable building practices. He actively promotes energy-efficient design,
environmentally responsible materials, and construction methods that contribute to healthier
homes and communities.
Tomás O’Leary
Tomás O’Leary has extensive experience in the planning, construction and quality assurance of Passive House and zero energy buildings. He is a co-founder of Mosart (1993) providing Architectural, Consulting and Education services in the realm of high-performance buildings.
Mosart is one of the leading multi-disciplinary firms in the world consulting on Passive House, playing a lead role on large and complex residential and commercial buildings in Ireland, UK and North America. He designed, built and lives in the first certified Passive House in the English-speaking world (2004) and has educated 4,500+ Certified Passive House Designers and Tradesperson internationally.
