Description:

The 1.8-hectare site is a natural formed terrace snuggled into the gentle north sloping base of Queenstown Hill, overlooking the untamed Shotover River which disappears around the bend.

The clients are staunch locals, having spent most of their life in a modest cottage on the same road. They have owned the site for twenty years; planting and tending to the now mature grapes on the terraces above the site. They sought a permanent home here, a home for a lifestyle of mature years in the country, making wine, and tinkering on old cars.

The concept was presented as a cluster of four robust rectilinear pavilions laid informally along the terrace. Off the form concrete boxes, walls and parapets wrapped in rusting Corten steel, and blackened steel joinery. The project revealed itself as something akin to a wild-west shantytown.

Each pavilion has a distinct, self-sufficient programme. The central pavilion includes a bright open living space flanked by a generous kitchen, the clients’ bedroom suite and their cosy snug. A separate guest pavilion houses a study and two suites for the family to come and go. The third pavilion creates a drive-through carport, with a small wine production area and wine cellar on one side, and with a wood store and plant room on the other. The fourth: a three-bay garage and workshop.

The external spaces connecting the pavilions are as important as the buildings, sailing larch lined soffits create covered outdoor living areas, where our clients spent their days with the view at their outdoor table.

The material palette is restrained both inside and out: Corten steel, off-the-form natural concrete, and blackened steel joinery, allow the house to blend into the surrounding landscape. Each material is left to express its own honest and living finish.

The kitchen is dark, with mild steel cabinetry and dark Belgian bluestone benchtops, setting off the view to the river through a shuttered window. The master bedroom is simplified and pared back with a wall of Oregon timber cabinetry concealing wardrobes, a desk and generous storage.

The home’s materials are meticulously detailed, with flush panels, level thresholds, and concealed drains and services. Junctions in materials are kept to a minimum. The corten panels are orchestrated in a rhythmic pattern to minimize the waste of the steel sheets. The playful shuttered windows are automated with sensors to create sun shading and ease northern glare whilst allowing natural ventilation.

This house is robust but relaxed and is designed to endure and age gracefully.