New Zealand architecture

Our studio loves heritage renovation projects. This project even more special in that it was for one of our own team. When they were searching for a new family home, Pac Studio director Aaron and wife Kate were looking for a housing type rather than a suburb. A villa built close to the ground, with wide hallways and generous doorways would provide Kate, a wheelchair user, with better flow and manoeuvrability. The search led them to Maungawhau Mount Eden, a 1910 transitional villa on a flat site, with a large verandah and elegant proportions. The downsides, while few, included a small kitchen in the middle of the house and a complicated arrangement of doors, the result of the house being split into flats at some stage in its past. Captio... More

This house designed for the family of a Wānaka artist is surrounded by rich, dense and vibrant perennial gardens — the inspiration for her work. The parallel desires of creating a home that was comfortably cosy and a working artist’s studio, along with secondary buildings to enable outdoor pursuits, informed the design approach and site arrangement. The site is positioned within a development with controls on colour, bulk and form. Our clients asked for a characterful design but not one that would suffer a prolonged consent process. Working within the development controls we created a compliant scheme — with a twist. Caption Caption Caption Located at the centre of the site, the house is orientated on an ea... More

A house in an exceptional setting, interwoven with the landscape.Primary spaces cascade down the landscape from east to west, while a reimagined colonnade on the seaward side blurs the indoor-outdoor quality of the building edge.Carefully positioned apertures create potent landscape connections, giving the landscape an interior quality, bringing it close. Caption Caption Few sites have the great character and engrossing natural beauty of this Otama house. In fact, it’s rare to have a situation so varied. Commanding ocean vistas give way to forested gullies, shadowy streams, wide beaches and rocky outcrops.The house is entered from the south – via a meandering path climbing from a stream below. It is a purposeful appro... More

Located on a waterfront site in Akaroa, this house combines contemporary design with a sensitivity to the scale and aesthetic of the existing built fabric. The design employs a series of steep gables, with perpendicular window proportions and vernacular materials evoking a sense of regional familiarity without any historical reproduction. The key design move is to break the building into a series of discrete steeply pitched gabled roof that recede and push forward. This creates the look of a number of modestly sized buildings and maintains the intimate, mostly small scale built form of Akaroa. It is the design intent that from a distance or when walking by on the waterfront the house will appear as a series of ad-hoc gabled buildings; each... More

This beautifully crafted timber dwelling sits on a site alongside an estuarine tendril of the Omaha River. The house is a three-part play, comprised of two separate wings, running north to south, connected by a boardwalk running east to west with a gabled guest wing. The elongated boardwalk is a key organising device to provide a variety of outdoor spaces to take advantage of the sun’s changing movements. Caption Caption Caption Caption Caption The house derives its outer form from the gabled barn of the rural vernacular, however the architectural language of traditional timber construction has been abstracted and extended. The architects chose to celebrate the aesthetic, tectonic and weathering possibilities... More

The Longbush Ecosanctuary Welcome Shelter is an innovative environmental education space designed, constructed and operated by a group of passionate volunteers, with the support of local businesses and charitable organisations. Access to the Welcome Shelter is free of charge for all visitors and the project aims to promote active stewardship of our natural environment both in conservation areas and in our cities. The project was generated and designed by the award winning designer Sarosh Mulla. Mr Mulla’s current doctoral research focuses on creating innovative forms of architecture for the New Zealand tourism industry, while continuing to promote the role of the architect as a leader within communities. Caption Caption... More

Waka Huia is a deeply personal renovation of a character villa on Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s harbour edge. Over more than forty years, its owner has filled the house with artworks, books, artefacts and family keepsakes, developing an instinctive understanding of rooms for art, entertaining and everyday life. The design continues this history. Original materials and crafted heritage details are retained and restored, with new work conceived in the same spirit of care, colour and longevity. Caption Caption Caption Caption On the ground floor, a reorganised plan brings the most frequently used rooms into morning light. The kitchen now occupies an open, central position connected to the dining room, garden and a vera... More

Designed in collaboration with client and designers Jonathan Goss and Cathy Ellegard, this 230 sqm footprint utilises skillfully crafted and organised spaces to deliver a family home in a modest space without compromising on design. Adaptive spaces are able to be opened up or closed down to suit the family’s needs, allowing the couple and their two children to live and work alongside each other. Simon Larkin Simon Larkin Simon Larkin Simon Larkin The sloping site allows the main living spaces and bedrooms to be raised above the driveway for privacy and views. Sculpted concrete steps lead to the entry, with the dramatic backdrop of the Remarkables mountain range beyond. Simon Larkin Simon Larkin Simon... More

In a quiet Auckland neighbourhood filled with classic New Zealand architecture, a 1940s art deco home has been revitalised by Nala Studio Architects with a thoughtful renovation that elegantly blends old-world charm with modern practicality. Recognised in Haven magazine and celebrated as an entrant in an interior design competition, this project shines not only as a design achievement but as a heartfelt transformation for a growing family. Nala Studio Architects Bringing Life to the Vision The owners came to us with a vision: a kitchen that could adapt to family life with an active toddler while creating an inviting space for hosting friends. They dreamed of a layout that captured the charm of their home’s vintage character whi... More

The Lake Hayes House, crafted by Ben Hudson Architects, is a modern two-level residence that gracefully integrates with the rocky terrain above Lake Hayes in Queenstown, New Zealand. John Williams Photography John Williams Photography John Williams Photography John Williams Photography John Williams Photography From the street, it presents a low, solid form inspired by traditional stone-walled gardens, using local stone to provide privacy and anchor the home to its site. Inside, the design shifts to a sense of transparency and light, with generous glazing that opens up to breathtaking views of the lake and mountains. Clerestory windows rise above the stone wall, drawing in natural light and framing the surrounding... More

In Christchurch's Port Hills, a new four-bedroom family home takes inspiration from the original 1960s house that was demolished after the Canterbury earthquakes. Caption On the lower level, the base of the house is clad in dark brick. The bedrooms are arranged as part of the metal-clad upper floor making the most of the north-western aspect and views across the city and Southern Alps. Caption Living spaces are separated by an enclosed terrace. Timber screens and interior panelling made of Oregon, and recycled from the original house, add warmth and texture inside and out. Caption Caption More

On a small cliff-front section overlooking the town basin and Hundertwasser Art Centre, HMOA has designed a new three-storey, three-bedroom house with a pool and plenty of space for entertaining. Caption Board-formed, in-situ concrete walls and stair core balance the extensive use of timber. Caption In keeping with the Northland climate, the top level is predominantly for indoor and outdoor living. There’s also an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area and a separate TV lounge. A lift provides access from the entry. Caption The second level houses the bedrooms and provides access to the pool terrace while the ground floor includes the garage, entry spaces and plenty of storage, including a wine cellar. Caption... More