THE LUXURY OF PATIENCE

THIS SIMPLE FAMILY HOME NATURALLY AND EFFORTLESSLY CONNECTS TO THE LANDSCAPE, THANKS TO THE SYMPATHETIC DESIGN CONSIDERATION BY

BEN HUDSON ARCHITECTS.

WORDS KATHY CATTON PHOTOGRAPHY SARAH ROWLANDS AND SIMON LARKIN

“We purchased this site several years before we built.” Those are the words of architect Ben Hudson, who saw the benefit of time when deciding to buy the section where his home was to be built. “We wanted to build our family home, but we wanted to look at the site throughout the year first,” says Ben.

This luxury of patience allowed the family to see how the sun tracked across the section throughout the year and throughout each day. It was an intentional build that complimented the site and felt like it naturally belonged to the landscape.

Originally from the UK, Ben and his wife emigrated to New Zealand in 2004. Fast forward ten years, and they purchased the section in the Jack’s Point area of Queenstown. As an architect, Ben explains, it’s practically in the DNA to have the desire to build. “After my years of training, experience and creative flair, I was now designing a home for my family,” he says. “Just as I approach any other project, I wanted this home to be an expression of the family who lives in it.”

And the expression of this home is one to be comfortably and practically lived in. There’s space for muddy boots and a large kitchen bench for people to congregate around: cook, eat and entertain. “There’s nothing gimmicky about the space,” says Ben. “It’s a functional, thoughtful space.”