Did you catch the article in Business South about our thriving small business? We’re so excited about it! It’s all about who we are and what we stand for. It’s amazing to get recognised for leading the way in sustainable building design as well as being a great, growing family business. Huge thanks to Business South and writer Russell Fredric for taking the time to single out our business. You can re-read the article here:

“Fledgling Christchurch company Park Homes is leading the way in building sustainable homes for progressive and innovative people looking to downsize their lifestyle.

At the core of Park Homes is its range of Tiny houses - homes on wheels of 17sqm to 24sqm - and its larger transportable, multi-modular homes of 25sqm and upwards.

The company is demonstrating there is no need to compromise in design or style when building small; along with being affordable, Park Homes are beautiful, luxurious and comfortable.

Run from its Christchurch base, Park Homes is the brain-child of Registered Master Builder Paul Hennessey, supported by his wife Pascale.

Paul has worked in the building industry for more than 30 years, with experience across the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The Hennesseys’ vision is for a community that thrives on living in warm, dry and comfortable homes that have a low-impact on the environment and are owner-occupied, rather than rented.
There is also an emphasis on earthquake resistance and transportability.

The couple formed the company in September 2014. Paul initially built a prototype house which they lived in for 18 months to assess its earthquake resilience and how it performed through the seasons.

After selling the house, they have chosen to showcase all the best ecological, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies New Zealand has to offer by building a 65sqm double-module show home which will also be their family home.

The house will be fully off the grid, utilising solar systems, solar hot water and gas cooking facilities, rainwater collection systems and an eco-friendly grey water system, a composting toilet and finished with plant-based paints from the Natural Paint Company.

It will also have fully recycled carpets made from plastics cleaned from oceans, sourced from the Flooring Centre, and much more.

“The idea behind this home was to show what is possible in building a certified Passive House, which is an internationally recognised standard of building that allows the house to maintain a certain temperature year round, with minimal to zero heating and cooling required, and yet still be a truly affordable and environmentally friendly option,” Paul says.
Park Homes believes it will be the first of its kind in New Zealand and possibly the world, as all other Passive Houses are built with standard foundations and are over the size needed to be classed as a small house.

Key components of construction are the use of structurally insulated panels (SIP’s) to create the building envelope and Park Homes’ signature floating foundation designed by Paul.

“In addition, no existing Passive Houses are fully transportable, so must be built on site rather than in a yard, as is the norm for Park Homes. It is also uncommon for Passive Houses to be completely off grid.”

“It is an exciting time to be in an industry with so much possibility.”

The show house is planned to be completed and ready for viewing later in the year.

As more people have caught the vision for downsizing, living with the environment in mind and for what Park Homes can offer in terms of quality of building materials and construction, the company has grown steadily to employ four staff with two more joining the fold recently.

In July 2017 Paul achieved certification as a Passive House Tradesperson by the International Passive House Institute in Germany.

Tiny houses can be built in six to ten weeks and modular houses in 10 to 14 weeks, depending on their complexity.”

Sums up our business perfectly! We can’t wait to work on the next chapter-- building a new display home and leading the way with new, innovative and sustainable designs with environmentally conscious features. Hopefully many more great articles to come! Thanks for supporting us.