Description:

The brief for this project was to create a heavily-crafted and bespoke permanent home for the clients. In terms of aesthetic, they wanted a moody palette of colour with high-quality materials that would endure. They had spent time in Japan and had come to value the simple and organic design philosophy found there.

From here, we decided to prioritise spatial proportion in conjunction with high-quality, permanent natural materials such as stone, timber and metals, with an emphasis on New Zealand craftsmanship. For example, the gate-house and glasshouse were commissioned to be designed as sympathetic works to the main building. Rainwater is disposed of by chainlinks and discharged over a recovered foundation stone from an inner-city heritage building demolished after the earthquakes. Bronze and brass elements of the gate and door hardware were also designed in-house.

We had a desire to trouble the boundaries of interior versus exterior spaces, and as such created a series of walled gardens and reflection areas which were linked by built form. Views of the garden and the stream are not expansive; instead unique perspectives are achieved through layering and framing. Entry to the house is via an external gallery with a timber-slatted gate alongside a large, still body of water and mature single maple tree. The driveway is composed of a combination of sawn and split Canterbury bluestone with a raw edge designed to mirror a timber-sleeper walkway. We worked to incorporate permanance with the materials we chose; to this end the ground-floor is constructed of a series of stone walls (dry-stacked), with a copper-clad first-floor. This has been left to age and patina with time.

Most importantly, the clients wanted to make use of skilled craftspeople and local talent in the project. Many people contributed to this; from the stonemason who worked for three years on the stone walls and driveway, to the small business who hand-cast the custom-designed bronze hardware for the doors and gates. Landscaping was collaborative under the direction of a New Zealand landscape architect, and includes native planting and a substantial vegetable garden and orchard which enables the clients to be relatively self-sufficient and able to share the abundance of produce with others in the community.