We had a chance to discuss green design and sustainable inspiration with Mary Ginn, who founded Cornerstone building systems.

Ms. Ginn has managed a business in Architectural Sustainable Design for the last 30 years. Her design philosophy starts with passive solar and high insulation, then considers how to efficiently manage the remaining energy and living requirements according to the lifestyle of her clients and the area the structure is to be placed. Ms. Ginn invented Cornerstone Building Systems, an energy efficient building system (more at http://www.4-cornerstone.com).

We are honored Ms. Ginn has taken this opportunity to share some of her insight and expertise with the Green Home Improvement community.

What was your inspiration to “go green”?

Growing up farming, harvesting fruit trees, fishing and collecting seafood—in a family that indulged in duck, pig and deer hunting, no less—I guess it all came naturally. I did not choose to “go green” or live sustainably; I was always brought up to be frugal from my Scottish and English heritage, but also to be generous from my Moari culture. I have always believed that we need to go back to past thinking in a lot of respects, rather than the rife throwaway mentality that has been getting us into so much trouble globally.

In my day, girls weren’t allowed to study as Architects, so I waited until the early ‘90s to go off to Polytechnic to study as an Architectural Designer. By that time, I was a single mum, struggling to make rent and especially pay electricity bills, so when I started to design and build my own homes, I designed buildings with the sun in mind. (25 years ago, using solar collectors was far too expensive!)  I was always on the lookout to improve energy efficiency and structural strength, as my area in Oxford was close to the Southern Alps, where high winds were frequent and many a roof disappeared. The result was the invention of the Cornerstone building system.

When I started promoting the building system at eco-shows in 2000, which I believe was the first in the country to start up in Christchurch, it was evident that this was where I fit in, where there were other inventors and producers trying to make a difference. My knowledge base expanded as I checked out other products and listened to the many guest speakers.

What challenges have you faced in building green homes/green retrofitting? Are homeowners always receptive? Architects?

There are many challenges!

1. Architects are meant to give the best solution for a home, but alas, many just go with the things they already know without exploring new designs, and are not completely transparent with the client.
2. The Green Building Council usually presents any number of hoops to jump through, as they frequently choose guaranteed products like timber frame—even if they are inferior. When we had leaky homes in NZ, products like mine would have been the perfect solution, but were subjected to a two-year process, so could not be implemented in time.
3. Most professionals seem to consider only profit rather than give the client the best advice. Generally, I have no affiliation with many of the products I promote as an architectural designer and builder. I just recommend what works best. Nowadays, the clients are finally doing the research, becoming much more knowledgeable and taking more control of their projects. I always encourage them to get involved!

What sort of green elements have you implemented in your own home?

An ever-growing veggie garden. I am also currently planning an off-grid home for the future with water collection, boiler—something not too big.

What advice can you give to homeowners who want to start making their homes sustainable?

Start with what you really need rather than all the bells and whistles. Houses have become too large and complicated, so keep it simple. Orient the home for maximum use of the sun, use effective insulation, UPCV windows which don’t leak, and a boiler or solar panels to at least cover the hot water and space heating. Get the structure right first, and most other things can be added later… For instance, if you cover water heating at 35 percent and space heating at 30 percent, that is a large amount of electricity you no longer consume… or pay for!

There are many clean-air fires on the market now, so finding one that is suitable for cooking can help with the slow-cooking soups and stews for the winter.  I also recommend the Te Wera Boiler system, which runs radiators and heats water efficiently with fast-burning action.

Remember that lighting is only 2-5 percent of electricity costs.

If you install some solar photovoltaic panels, a small wind turbine attached to the structure would help on the days when there isn’t adequate sunlight, even if you make allowances for some things like wiring so that you can add later.

Consider the environment and the possibility of future water taxes.  Store water from the roof and collect grey water for gardens and fruit trees, etc. There are some interesting water collection methods available in bladders in fences, depending on space requirements.

Most importantly, get involved!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 9:51 am and is filed under From the Pros. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.