Description:

Located on the shores of Lake Wānaka, Penrith Peaks was designed as a low maintenance home that capitalises on the magnificent lake and mountain views, a retreat to enjoy all the alpine town has to offer. The clients brief was clear; all day sunlight into the living spaces, a sense of privacy from the street frontage, and an overall contemporary design aesthetic. Given the location, ample storage was a necessity, to accommodate a range of equipment for year-round outdoor pursuits.

The design brief called for a 3 bedroom home that maximised the north-west view over the street frontage, whilst maintaining privacy for the occupants of the home. The solution was an upstairs central open plan living area, with a sense of transparency, bookended at either side by bedrooms. By opting for this arrangement, with the guest bedroom placed further forward and the master bedroom wing backwards, views to the north west are opened up and sheltered, private courtyards to the north-west and southern facades are formed. Spaces along on the western facade capture uninterrupted sunlight from the north, while mitigating sightlines from the adjacent public walking track.

Internally, the mood is laid-back. Polished concrete floors, coloured timber accents and a white kitchen bring a softness and a warm, homely atmosphere to the contemporary and sleek exterior. The stairwell features an impressive board-marked concrete spine wall that spans over both levels, adding grit and texture to an otherwise restrained scheme.

The home has a modern aesthetic with a deftly angled roofline and an external material palette that combines the warmth of wood with linear metal cladding. Distinctive from the street and visually intriguing, the metal-wrapped upper floor appears to float above native plantings, offset by the lower storey’s recessed, dark timber panelling.