When building a new home there is a lot to think about, especially when considering Passive House design principles and New Zealand Homestar ratings.

It starts with the basic structure of a home, the location, sunshine, warmth and energy usage and continues into the minutiae of multiple decisions on each new home. This is the journey Michele Powles and her family have been going through in West Auckland as they build a home they hope will be sensitive to the environment, with smart design.

When thinking about building an environmentally-friendly home, most people don't think about roofing iron — but longrun roofing can offer an architectural beauty to a home and still meet many environmental requirements. Longrun roofing is easy to attach solar panels to for energy-efficient heating and is safe to collect drinking water off. Dimond's longrun roofing is made from New Zealand steel and is also recyclable.

Using the right base material that can weather the elements leads to a long life which also helps with sustainability — this is why Dimond recommended ColorCote ZM8 for the Powles home. Due to salt spray from the ocean it was important to ensure the base material wouldn't rust, and ColorCote ZM8 contains an additional layer of magnesium in the alloy coating to give it advanced weather protection and a long, sustainable life (with proper maintenance).

Due to the low pitch (5 degrees) of part of the roof, Dimond recommended using Veedek. Dimond Veedek features clean straight lines with a unique angled swage which provides a strong visual appeal that can handle New Zealand’s sudden downpours at a low pitch. Combine this with an economic cover width, and you have a cost effective yet striking roof.

Michele and her family chose to cover their roof and walls (to be clad in Dimond Corrugate) in black, because they wanted something that would provide a striking modern look, but without standing out against the natural bush setting. Tucked in on their section, the black hugs the land and fits well with the mangroves and the often dark grey look of the West Coast sand in their environs. Effortlessly stylish, black also highlights the natural beauty of the small section of external cedar weatherboards they've chosen to use.