Houzz Tour: A Brilliantly Designed New-build Maximises the Views
This house has been cleverly angled to create a sheltered suntrap and ensure every room has a lovely outlook
Following the 2010 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, that upended the lives of many, rebuilding took a heartbreakingly long time. In the summer of 2015, this local family finally settled into their new home on the rural land north of the city, after their Avonside city property was declared ‘red zone’ and unbuildable. Their new home, in an expansive rural setting, finally gave them the shelter they needed, this time with views to the Southern Alps beyond neighbouring paddocks.
It quickly became clear that a simple H-shaped floorplan would allow the living areas and bedrooms to be arranged around a sheltered, north-facing courtyard. The house runs on an east-west axial link, with bedrooms and bathrooms in the west wing and open-plan living rooms in the east. The drama comes from the punched out cedar window-seat boxes in the master bedroom and living room.
The house has already earned its designer and builder regional awards from their respective professional bodies: the new home between 150-300 sq m in the Architectural Design Award, and a Gold Reserve from Master Builders Home of the Year.
The house has already earned its designer and builder regional awards from their respective professional bodies: the new home between 150-300 sq m in the Architectural Design Award, and a Gold Reserve from Master Builders Home of the Year.
Curragh inserted small windows low on the southern side of the house. In summer, these draw cool air from ground level to be ventilated out of the warmer side of the house, creating a naturally cooling airflow.
A solar hydraulic slab with underfloor insulation, heavy-duty wall and ceiling insulation and double-glazed, argon-filled windows ensure the house runs efficiently. Solar panels on the roof, in conjunction with a ‘wetback’ on the wood fire, provide hot water.
A solar hydraulic slab with underfloor insulation, heavy-duty wall and ceiling insulation and double-glazed, argon-filled windows ensure the house runs efficiently. Solar panels on the roof, in conjunction with a ‘wetback’ on the wood fire, provide hot water.
A flat-roofed section links the two wings, with a long wooden deck creating a sense of anticipation and arrival. Occasional windows on the entrance side provide tantalising glimpses of the house behind the dark walls of cedar battens on band-sawn cedar ply.
Curragh worked for many years in Canada, so delivered a twist on that country’s traditional salt-box gable roof with this project. The steeper, 40 degree roofs on the outside help push the wind over the top of the house; the gentler, 20 degree slope towards the inside courtyard decks has a more welcoming scale.
Walls stained in Ebony, Sikkens.
Walls stained in Ebony, Sikkens.
The deck on the eastern side opens off the kitchen and dining area, providing a lovely spot for breakfast.
Inspired by this project? Find an architect on Houzz today to help kick-start your own renovation.
Inspired by this project? Find an architect on Houzz today to help kick-start your own renovation.
Polished concrete floors run throughout the house, and Curragh used carefully positioned joinery to frame the axial views. The glass gallery blurs the boundaries of house and courtyard when the doors are stacked back in the summer.
Curragh was careful to acoustically insulate the bedrooms from the rest of the house, as one of the sons is a guitar player with a very loud amplifier.
Curragh was careful to acoustically insulate the bedrooms from the rest of the house, as one of the sons is a guitar player with a very loud amplifier.
Curragh likes to use changes in volume to create a greater sense of space than the footprint would suggest. In the living room, he inserted a flat-roofed section to transition to the courtyard boardwalks.
The window seat niche seen here is one of two added into the design of the house, providing space for the family and their guests to stop and soak in their surroundings.
The window seat niche seen here is one of two added into the design of the house, providing space for the family and their guests to stop and soak in their surroundings.
The kitchen was a collaboration between Curragh and the joiners, Modern Age Kitchens & Joinery. Custom furniture-maker Gavin Cox supplied the laminated timber breakfast bar, and the cabinets are naturally oiled birch plywood with a concrete worktop around the sink and hob. The door leads to the scullery and laundry.
Experience in set-building and special effects in the film industry has given Curragh a passion for well-engineered details. Here, he mixed white oak veneer and fine carbon-fibre rods for the striking ‘flying’ shelf that delineates the kitchen. He routed out room for the LED strip to provide a gentle glow in the evenings.
Stacking glazed sliding doors open the living room to the courtyard, and can be opened and closed on various sides to protect against the varying wind directions. The asymmetrical ceiling volume, lined with quarter-cut tawa veneer plywood, creates an enveloping warmth in the space.
Wetback wood stove, Metrofires.
Wetback wood stove, Metrofires.
Curragh was hands-on in the design and manufacture of the detail-rich pergola, the steel posts and cedar louvres around the courtyard boardwalks, and the custom-folded steel joinery elsewhere in the house.
One of the owners is an enthusiastic gardener and has begun landscaping the courtyard, centring it on a specimen tree that changes with the seasons. Grasses and a small pond to the south of the property reflect the rural surroundings.
One of the owners is an enthusiastic gardener and has begun landscaping the courtyard, centring it on a specimen tree that changes with the seasons. Grasses and a small pond to the south of the property reflect the rural surroundings.
The bathroom has one of the best positions in the house, with windows that pull back so bathers can enjoy the view. The owners’ green fingers have already created a delightful indoor garden on the bespoke shelves.
Shelves; vanity unit, all Modern Age Kitchens & Joinery.
Shelves; vanity unit, all Modern Age Kitchens & Joinery.
The master bedroom features a window seat with a smaller, more intimate trapezoidal surround than the one in the living room, making it a perfect spot to curl up and admire the view. Curragh designed the recessed ply bedhead to replace bedside furniture, slipping in more film-worthy lighting to illuminate the niche.
The plywood ceiling detail repeats that of the living room.
Curragh designed folded steel shelves that form brackets for the American white oak hanging rods in the bedroom.
Tell us…
What do you like about this house? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
What do you like about this house? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Who lives here? A couple and their two teenagers
Location Springbank Downs, North Canterbury, New Zealand
Size Three bedrooms and two bathrooms; 192 sq m
Year built 2015
Architectural designer Nic Curragh of Objects Ltd
Builder Chris Sinclair of Sinclair Builders
Photos by Sarah Rowlands and Bevan Triebels
The owners found the perfect slice of land about an hour out of Christchurch near Rangiora, known as the gateway to local wineries, ski fields and the inland scenic trail. Their brief to Curragh was to create a simple form sheltered from the prevailing winds that whip across the plains from either direction, that was passively solar-heated, and would frame views to the surrounding countryside.