Falcon: Life At Home Parade

FALCON: LIFE AT HOME PARADE

The Falcon Homes ShowHome is one of eight Show Homes in the Life at Home parade of Show Homes at Karaka Harbourside in Auckland.

The concept behind the Life at Home parade of ShowHomes is to create a platform from which quality Master Builders can display great home designs, quality products and best practice building solutions, in the one street, in a manner that is accessible and achievable for all New Zealanders. In addition to offering great ideas and advice to the public the Life at Home ShowHome destination also gives back to the community, and is aiming to generate over $100,000 towards supporting those in need throughout the community.

It was the opportunity to be part of something special, that would set “benchmark” standards, at the same time as giving back to the community that convinced Vince Sussmilch, the owner of Falcon Homes, to be part of the Life at Home Karaka Harbourside parade of ShowHomes.

Falcon Homes is a small residential building company which has been building new homes in the Auckland area since the 1980s. Vince specializes in providing HomeOwners with a custom built  home that ensures their design and lifestyle requirements are achieved in full. In doing so he recognizes that many people find new home building a daunting task and he therefore endeavours to remove all the stress associated with building a new house by working closely with his customers, often from the section purchase, through to the home design, house build and the landscaping of the completed project. As a result of Vince’s personalized and professional service many of his customers have built second and even third homes with him.

Vince’s dedication, commitment to innovation, quality workmanship and excellent customer service has been recognized over the years with numerous reviews and multiple New Zealand Master Builder Federation House of the Year awards.

However as Vince will admit, he doesn’t work in a vacuum, and his experience and “eye for detail” flows through to all aspects of his business, starting with his contractors, who he personally selects.

Bob Wilson, from Monier’s mySteel Roofing Solutions, took personal responsibility for ensuring that the installation of the Metrotile Royal roof, on the Falcon Homes Show Home, met Vince’s high standards. The actual installation of the roof was undertaken by Rangi Mathews who was highly commended by the

Roofing Association of New Zealand 2012 Metal Tile Award judges for his installation skills, which are clearly demonstrated on the Falcon Homes Show Home.

Monier’s mySteel Roofing Solutions has been installing Metrotile product since 2008. In addition to the Metrotile roof, Monier supplied the Matakana Cream, Nautilus and Omaha bricks on the Falcon Homes job. Combining the Matakana Cream with the smaller format of the Nautilus and Omaha bricks gives the ShowHome a stunning and unique look, and provides it with exceptional style and visual appeal. In addition, because the bricks are clay, they are low maintenance, durable and long lasting with good thermal mass, which aids energy efficiency.

The Metrotile Royal Metal Roof Tile, which has a natural stone textured finish and is available in a range of earthy colours, closely replicates the attractive low profile look of Asphalt Shingles and compliments the Monier Brick external cladding. In addition the Metrotile Royal Tile is a low glare roof that does not adversely affect neighbouring homes. It is also a low maintenance product that offers all of the performance and cost benefits of a steel roof, that has been specifically designed for New Zealand conditions by a New Zealand manufacturer.

Vince was supported in the design of his Life at Home ShowHome by the team from Koia Architects. Koia Architects was established in Auckland in 1995 by Tony Koia and now has offices in both Auckland and Queenstown. Koia Architects enjoys designing a diverse range of residential and light commercial projects, and in 2009 were Award Winners in the Department of Building and Housings, Affordable Homes competition. The Falcon Homes ShowHome is the first two storied home that they have designed that incorporates the energy efficiency, thermal energy and lower running costs components that were part of their Award Winning Affordable Homes entry. Whilst not a requirement for the Falcon Homes ShowHome, potable water can be collected from a Metrotile Royal roof, which is an important consideration for some HomeOwners.

The design of the Falcon Homes ShowHome is stunning. Its entrance draws you into an expansive and welcoming Indoor/Outdoor living and dining area, that utilizes Bi- Fold Aluminum Joinery to take full advantage of the sun and the corner site, which the house is located on.