About ecospace

Our Values

Kaitiakitanga

We are forward thinking and future focused. We promote sustainable guardianship of the environment and its resources, Living in natural harmony with the environment. Our goal in business is to leave our environment and planet in a better state for future generations, Using renewable, sustainable resources.

Manaakitanga

Caring for the needs of others, and doing what is right.

Oranga

Wellness, Well being, & Good health. For our people, for our lands, waters, eco systems, habitats, and environment. We are building towards a long term view with our business, acting now for intergenerational change. The health and wellbeing of our people & the environment is interwoven.

Whanaungatanga

Deriving from the word whanau, Family, Building relationships, making connections, creating a sense of belonging, Creating communities, Reconnection with whenua, iwi, whanau, culture, sovereignty, self sustenance. Especially important for the Maori Housing and Papakainga projects in our future plans.

Kotahitanga

Meaning “Oneness’ or “Unity ” expressing the ideas of collective action & responsibility. We are moving towards a better outcome for Kiwi’s as a whole, with a collective approach to solving NZ’s issues, and encouraging unity and oneness.

Our Passion

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First and foremost, we are committed to providing a product that does not shy away from the harsh reality of climate change; and the impact that humans have on our environment.

Each stage of the building process is undertaken with sustainability in mind. Our Ecospaces have been brought to life with architecturally designed working drawings by Eco Habitats – specialists in eco-friendly architecture – and built by registered New Zealand certified builders, GBARR Construction Ltd.

We have done away with traditional timber and steel stud applications for the primary structure of the units. Instead, we have opted to use Formance™ SIP’s, an environmentally friendly product that encourages superior durability and energy efficiency of the building envelope. 

A sustainable approach is reflected in all the materials that we use; each one selected for its high quality and environmental sustainability which saves you money in the long run. 

Our cladding is Abodo, A beautiful sustainably sourced timber that is thermally modified as opposed to treated with harsh chemicals, which makes it safer for people, with tomorrow in mind thinking generations ahead! This beautiful alternative looks very similar to cedar, but in a wider range of profiles and colours! 

Flexible

Our customizable Ecospaces are built to suit your needs; whether you’re looking for a tiny house for permanent living, a bach for the beach, air bnb for secondary income returns, granny flat for the whanau, or studio for work purposes, one of our Ecospace units will be a perfect investment for your family or business.

Each of the base units that we offer can be built on a trailer, or fixed foundations, with or without council consent depending which path suits you best, providing you with a greater range of possibilities for your new living or working space. Moving houses takes on a whole different meaning! 

The trailer option can also provide the added option of avoiding the lengthy and intimidating consent process with council that one can get bogged down in when deciding to build. However, if the consenting path is best suited for you, we can assist with compliance from start to finish with any project, big or small.

We can also provide custom concepts from scratch, with design and build options, modular designs based on our current concepts, and being licensed builders ourselves, we can assist with end to end project management, and additional construction work for any stage of your project!

Affordable

Let’s face it, the current state of the housing market has made it increasingly difficult to buy a first home, or bach. Growing house and land prices are locking many people out of the option to own their own house. Ecospace units are a more realistic alternative for those who want to get started without being locked into an excessive mortgage.

Do you have a plot of land, but aren’t quite ready to build that dream home or bach you’ve always wanted? Maybe you can’t afford to? Do you have a piece of land where running main service’s to the property is unattainable or too expensive? An Ecospace unit might be exactly what you need, and being completely transportable, they can be moved to the back of the property as a secondary income source, or sold on to another lucky customer if the time comes to upscale.

With that being said, there are also affordability benefits in the long term with our structure being made out of Formance™ SIP panels, which reduces energy consumption, and lower energy bills. With our high insulation R rating, and top quality air and vapour control, you will lower your heating and cooling loads over the lifetime of your home. Our heat recovery ventilation systems are also very affordable to run at less than 1 cent per day per fan! We’re confident our cabin’s are so warm you won’t even need heaters in the winter!

Quality

Quality is the foundation of everything that we do at Ecospace NZ. We value the investment that you make when choosing an Ecospace unit, and we want to ensure that you are happy with the finished product.

We have an experienced team that takes pride in their workmanship, with a keen eye for the finer details that create a premium quality product we’re sure you will love.

Our focus on quality extends to the one on one service that we provide you. We care about what you think, and we want to ensure that the building process runs as smooth and stress free as possible for you.

We are proud members of the NZCB (New Zealand certified builders) and licensed building practitioners, with a 10 year guarantee provided on all our work.

Above all else, we deliver a sustainable, flexible, and affordable healthy living space for New Zealanders, that doesn’t sacrifice comfort or quality.

Our Process

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Step 1: Design confirmation

Tell us your story so we can guide you in the best direction for your site specific project, including trailer vs fixed timber foundation options, council consent pathways or off grid. 

Choose an Ecospace concept that best fits you.

Can’t find what you’re after? Let us help! We can create custom designs from scratch, or make amendments to existing concepts with our in-house architect to better suit your needs. More info on custom designs here: (Link to custom design page in the Our range tab)

Happy with our standard spec? Great! If not, customise your materials for the interior and exterior from our range of trusted suppliers.

We have a showroom available to stay at if you want to feel the benefits and comfort first hand, more info here: (link to air bnb page) Alternatively, come into our office for a coffee and a chat, and we can walk you through a range of concepts, material options, and benefits of building with Ecospace in person.

Site builds are available if you are based in Auckland or Christchurch
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Step 2: Payment terms, and contract signed

Once we have confirmed your design and project, we ask for a deposit to lock the job in our schedule, and complete a NZCB Build contract for both parties to sign based on the agreed terms and conditions.

For fixed price contracts:

As with most building contracts we work on a progress payment system. We require a 60% deposit once the contract is signed and before the construction starts, this covers all the building materials to get the project started and into production. At week 9 we then require a further 30% to pay for the construction labour costs, and then the final 10% before pick up/delivery.

Materials & Labour charge up contracts:

This option works well for custom projects, and the process is generally the same. A deposit is required to lock the job in (approximately 60%) this pays for all materials to be ordered, and subcontractors to be locked in. From there we will issue progress payments every 3-4 weeks or when necessary until the job is completed. Final invoice is due before transportation.

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Step 3: Planning stages

Your project is scheduled into our online buildertrend system, and you’re given online access to view the progress of your project every step of the way. This includes daily logs with photos attached, a central hub for all compliance documents for council, and your own personal records, keeping you up to date at every step of the project!
If your job is going through council compliance, this will be lodged with council as a priority.

All materials are ordered, and subcontractors are locked in with our schedule.
Generally this process takes approx 6-8 weeks for production times of materials, fixtures, and fittings, although during these unprecedented times, these timelines are varied at the moment with longer than usual lead times on products across the building industry due to the effects of covid, and high demand for construction. We will advise the ETA prior to planning stage.

Step 4: Construction stages

Once all materials arrive in our warehouse, we will make a start on the build as per our Buildertrend schedule. This process takes between 4-6 weeks for the build time from start to finish, depending on size and extent of the build, very fast, and very efficient!

Council inspections will take place at their respective stages of the project
Final walkover and clean of your Ecospace, prepared for transport.
All site builds will have a slightly different build process, which will be set out at the start of the planning stage, starting with the foundations first.
For fixed timber foundations, if required we can set up the site foundations prior to delivery.

Your Ecospace is ready for transport to its final destination!

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Step 5: Final invoice payment, transport:

We can provide transport solutions including transit insurance (recommended) from our warehouse to your site. This is completely outsourced to trusted operators.
Transport options include: HIAB, Tow truck options for trailer homes, Crane and cartage, Ferry bookings etc. We haven’t had a place we couldn’t deliver to yet, and we have been to some pretty rugged spots!

All compliance documentation, producer statements, and record of works is finalised on the buildertrend software for your records.

ecospace story

Kia ora,

My name is Gavin Barr, and I have been working in the building industry for 15 years. Ecospace started from an idea I had as a young apprentice to build sustainable off grid housing solutions for New Zealanders. This idea was formed following a conversation with my brothers and late father (also a builder), about potential businesses we could develop in the future together. During this time around 2009, the container home craze was new, and becoming very popular, and from that we discussed the idea of creating some sort of off-grid sustainable living solutions for Kiwis, trying to think outside the square of normality. This idea resonated and stuck with me from that day forth. After the passing of my father to Cancer in 2010, I decided to leave my job at the time, and go full time with a building apprenticeship to follow in his footsteps in the building industry.

During my apprenticeship, I won awards in the BCITO apprentice of the year, and was nominated top student in a trade program for my region from the NZ institute of building. This set the fire and passion I have for the NZ building industry. My goals were written down very clearly early on. I wanted to run my own building company as soon as possible, and build high end, top quality homes.

Upon completing my apprenticeship, I went into contract building, and was put into project management roles straight away, which helped me learn about the ins and outs of the building industry very quickly, gaining valuable experience managing various residential sites. I took a leap of faith after 2 years and went out on my own to form GBARR construction Ltd.

This sustainable housing idea was still frequent in the back of my mind, sticking with me over the years, especially after growing more connected to my whakapapa, being a passionate nature lover through my passion of the outdoors, nature, sunsets, and surfing. I became more in tune with following my intuition, and a big part of this was to turn this idea into reality. I started to learn about the core values of my ancestors, embracing “Kaitiakitanga” which is the Maori translation for “sustainable management of natural resources”.

During this time, I also saw a huge gap in the market for sustainable, affordable housing solutions following the Auckland housing crisis, a need for easy transportable options for bare land and bach’s or second dwellings, and the general hardship it was for Kiwis to get onto the property ladder. I was content with the amazing projects that we were doing with GBARR Construction, we were growing quickly and the business was performing well, But I felt like I had more to contribute to the industry, and craved a bit more purpose in making my mark on the world. This, along with seeing the effects humans were having on the planet with climate change, and over exploiting our natural resources urged me to put my energy into making this idea a reality early 2018. 

Through hard work, bit by bit in the time I had available after hours, and on the weekends alongside running my other business, I saved up enough money to start my dream, and followed my passion and intuition to create Ecospace. My ambition was to have some sort of contribution to these problems I saw, as well as doing something I truly loved and felt really passionate about.

While we had been active online and through social media for a year, Our big launch was the 2019 Auckland Home show. We built a 18m2 showroom that sold straight away! and while I was already very confident in our product, The positive feedback throughout the event solidified this feeling that I was on the right path. 

Fast forward to now, I have a great team behind me, including my 2 brothers who are also following in our fathers footsteps with their building apprenticeships. Our passion is summarised in our tagline “Building for a better future.” This ethos is built from our tikanga principles and blended into today’s world. These values keep us grounded, and help us navigate the business with purpose and passion to help the environment and Kiwis as a whole. The boundaries are limitless with this ethos, We are continually improvising and sharpening our processes to create new and improved Ecospaces as we grow and evolve.

I’m very excited for our future, We now have 2 primary build locations in Auckland and Christchurch, and intend to expand our range into bigger prefab minor dwellings in early 2024. This will include our standard premium high quality range, and an affordable range. Our long term goal is to spread our wings further with Papakainga & Maori housing, Creating sustainable housing communities, eco-tourism, Utilising more resources and promoting iwi procurement within our builds, and full circle housing and employment initiatives for our people, and those passionate in the same ideals.

Thank you for stopping by and showing your interest. We hope to help you in the future.

Nga mihi,

Gavin Barr

Director