ToePrint site location invites us as the designers and builders to look first at the four natural elements readily available to the site. Wind-Sun-Fire-Water.
© Toeprint
ToePrint Design and Build is creating an innovative home and an example building which will harness the natural resources available to the site WIND, SUN, FIRE ,WATER. We will use building materials both inside and out based on the natural strength, durability, simplicity, low toxicicity and funtionality of those materials.

The exterior shape is designed to stay in harmony with the contour of the headland..The design incorporates a number of basic building tecniques linked to high tec materials and engineering new to building design.

Toe Print house will be powered by 2 verticle axis wind turbines, photovoltaic solar mats, solar hot water, open fire wet back to large capacity passive hot water storage.

The site has main grid power available which we will connect to and utilise as a power support system for the surrounding properties.

The installation of an import / export meter allows free flow electricity if and when required.

Our new home will be built 102 meters directly above the stunning pacific ocean. The 360° exposure to natural elements will allow us to do our best to live within a toeprint of a carbon print.


Wind Sun Fire Water are all freely available to us. There is an environmental cost to tech"ing up to harness these elements and to that we have to add our toeprint.

We have endeavoured to research and develop innovative concepts keeping closely in mind the carbon cost to creating, transporting and on-site constructing of these materials.

Tutukaka History
The Tutukaka Coast was populated by the Maori people of the Ngatiwai Tribe, whose successors live along the coast today and are regarded as the children of the seas.

The first recorded European visit to the coast was an overnight stay in Tutukaka by the sailing ship Prince Regent in 1820. In 1837 the HMS Buffalo spent two months on the coast, cutting kauri spars for use by the British Admiralty. Water wheel driven machinery set up at Ngunguru by James Busby and Gilbert Mair in 1843 is thought to have been the first fully mechanized timber mill in the Southern Hemisphere.
Information taken from whangareinz.com