Completed: 2011
Builder: McConnell Building Ltd
Photography: Camilla Rutherford
This family home is positioned on a raised section of land above Lake Wānaka.
The design allows for extended family to visit while accommodating for aging accessibility.
The courtyards are positioned off from the central kitchen hub, for easy retreating from prevailing winds and summer sun while adding easy spill over extra space for entertaining guests.
The walls are textured insulated concrete panels which acts as a heat sink for the large Wanaka temperature fluctuations, while oiled cedar offers ‘visual warmth’ to the material palette.
An air source heat pump heats the flooring throughout the house, with a solid fuel wood burner for use in the shoulder seasons. Thermal efficiency is carefully detailed through careful engineering and high insulation values.
Low angle roofs make the home sit on the site comfortably there is a two storey bedroom wing which offers a view towards Mt Gold
“Simple forms contain an assembly of beautifully proportioned volumes. The robust use of concrete and wood delivers a sense of strength and permanence, and everything is direct and honest in this house which, centered on a truly functional outdoor room, is made for practical living.”
2011 NZIA Southern Architecture Awards jury citation
