4 minute read
SOOTHING OUTDOOR SANCTUARY
The brief included a master suite, which makes up the top level of the house and steps to the upper level of the garden. This calm sanctuary gives the homeowners their own place to relax, close to the heart of the home below, where everyone can be together. The children’s bedrooms with ensuites are just off the main living room, and a guest suite on the lower ground floor houses another private living space.
“The homeowners have exquisite taste and selected the furniture for the home,” says Siân, adding that Team Green provided the architectural interior details such as wall panelling and the bespoke feature pendant in the entrance.
Mark was also involved in the landscape design, using his local knowledge and passion for Central Otago in the plan. This rugged landscape also inspired the home’s exterior of rusty Corten steel and local schist stone.
Thermal efficiency was the biggest challenge in the design of this project. This generously proportioned home required a large amount of structural steel and concrete. “Steel gets in the way of insulation,” says Siân. “It’s a bit like trying to make a commercial car park into a thermally efficient space.” Getting things right with insulation meant drawing on contacts in Europe. In 2016, building a Passive House in New Zealand wasn’t a mainstream choice and many products needed to be imported, including the triple glazed, double Low-E windows.
Hadley Consultants carried out the structural and civil engineering, including concept, preliminary design, detailed design and construction monitoring. Director of Hadley Consultants James Hadley says, “The project involved a high level of complexity, with heavy cladding and mixed materials including in-situ concrete walls and facia concrete. Heavy section Universal Columns were applied as beams to minimise beam depths and downstands into architectural spaces. Offset load paths and cantilever supports together with the use of roof and floor diaphragms to achieve lateral stability all provided interesting structural challenges.”
Following the completion of this energy-efficient home, Team Green Architects’ commitment to Passive House principles has attracted many new clients who recognise the importance of living in a healthy home with a low environmental impact.
Siân says that Passive House construction has become more mainstream in New Zealand in recent years as people have become increasingly aware of ways to reduce their impact on the planet. The number of Passive House building products available in New Zealand has understandably increased, with many tripleglazed Low-E windows now made here along with other materials brought in from Europe and assembled locally.
In response to the recently increased minimum requirement for insulation in the New Zealand Building Code, Siân says, “It’s a step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go. I left the UK in 2006, and back then, they were ahead of where we are now. So, they’re 16 years ahead of us in their thinking about the environmental impact of energy use in the home and building healthier homes.”
Despite these challenges, Siân and Mark work with a supportive array of consultants and suppliers who share their environmental approach to designing and building homes.
“Collaboration is key to what we do as architects,” says Siân. “We work with a wider team of people who realise that this approach is something New Zealand needs.”
The owners of Oliver’s Ridge House are happy with this light-filled home designed to capture all-day sun with energy efficiency and wellbeing in mind. “Throughout the whole process we felt comfortable in the knowledge that the end result would be exactly what we dreamed, a home that both reflects us, and is a building of substance that fits seamlessly into the landscape.”
021 942 985 | teamgreenarchitects.co.nz 03 450 2140 | hadleys.co.nz
QUEENSTOWN | CHRISTCHURCH
CONSULTING ENGINEERS STRUCTURAL / CIVIL / PROJECT MANAGEMENT / GEOTECHNICAL
TIMELESS CLASSIC
THIS HOME OF BEAUTY AND GRANDEUR STANDS PROUD AND TALL, THANKS TO THE WORK OF RADIUS BUILDING AND BOYD CHAMBERLAIN ARCHITECTURE.
WORDS KATHY CATTON PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW O’SULLIVAN
Architectural styles have evolved for centuries to accommodate changes in lifestyle, fashion, and the environment. A home that can hold its style for several decades has, for some, a certain appeal over the fads of modern design, which may date with the passing of the years. From the classic villa with its bay windows and front veranda to the more abstract, contemporary forms, we can see examples of all styles of homes in and around O ¯ tautahi.
This home in Prebbleton is one such example of a timeless classic. Set on 5,000 square metres, the land alone has an expansiveness to it, so the style and grandeur of this residence is the perfect abode for such a site.
Homeowners Martin and Michelle were originally looking to alter their existing home in Rolleston, but soon realised that no matter what was thrown at it, the renovation and expansion option was not going to meet the family’s needs for the future.
