Peter Olorenshaw Architect

Timeless buildings, that are designed for the sun and feel good to be in, is what I strive for.

My designs are unashamedly  not “this years fashion”; fashionable buildings quickly date.  I prefer to design timeless buildings, that don’t go out of fashion; buildings with big sheltering roofs, verandahs, decks and out-door rooms, as well as an interesting variety of indoor spaces.

Solar design is an integral part of all my work.  All buildings should be designed for the sun – warm in winter with little heating, yet pleasantly cool in summertime, – sadly they are not.  This goes hand in hand with wherever possible, using natural building materials; creating living spaces free from toxic outgassing.

Individual Attention – When you employ my firm you get me – your job is not handed down to someone else.

Living and Working on Sustainability for 20 years – its not just theoretical. We built our own passive solar adobe house and have been living off grid with our independent power systems since 1996. We provide all our own water supply from rainwater, harvest all the fertility from our wastes in our in house composting toilet and water our orchard with our greywater.

All Materials – Although a lot of my work is in buildings with conventional timber frame construction, and I’ve done a lot of work in eliminating thermal bridging in timber frame building, I’ve also had a lot of experience in earth and straw bale buildings, and with naturally durable timbers.