Located on a hill overlooking Mosgiel, this house is all about making the most of the sun and views.
After 15 years on lifestyle blocks, the owners wanted to spend less time on the land and more time with their children and grandchildren. However, what they had appreciated about living in the country was not having close neighbours.
Fortunately, their new house is elevated, so they still have a degree of privacy, one of them says. They also enjoy the outlook and the fact the house is warm.
"It’s a cracker place to live."
Cameron Grindlay, of Dwelling Architectural Design, says the mono-pitched design was dictated by the sloping section. It also reduced the bulk of the house - the top floor is 320sq m, including the garage, and the basement is another 158sq m - helping it to sit snugly on the site.
Those first-floor spaces include the kitchen, scullery, laundry, living area and main bedroom suite. The garage is also on the upper level and from there, his clients can walk straight into the house.
The owner says it’s like living in an apartment and, while there are stairs down to the workshop, games room, guest bedrooms and guest bathroom, the property is "very user friendly".
The driveway, which was part of the subdivision and formed at a 1:4 slope, could easily have dominated the site. To avoid this, it was split in two, with a separate entrance to the ground floor added for guests. Another solution was cantilevering the main bedroom out over the curved schist wall of the workshop below - the cantilevered section extends over the driveway, lessening its impact.
The open-plan kitchen, dining and living area, with its feature timber ceiling, is the hub of the home.
"We wanted a large, inclusive entertaining area and our bedroom off [it], so if we’re heating the living area, the residual heat could go into that room as well," the owner says.
"We also wanted a separate snug /office that I could use when working from home."
The kitchen sink was initially going to be in the island but was moved to the back wall, making it easier for people to gather on both sides of the island and to face the view if they want to.
"When people come, instead of sitting in a line, they’ll stand or sit around the breakfast bar and talk to each other. It’s a meeting place," the owner says.
"Three-D sun studies were undertaken at the design stage to ensure winter sun came streaming in as requested but to keep out the summer sun and issues around overheating."
Roof overhangs provide sun shading. On the northwest deck, adjustable overhead louvres also deliver shade when needed, while the thermal mass of concrete block releases heat in the evenings.
High levels of insulation, a SIP roof construction and low-e, argon thermally-broken double glazing all make the home energy-efficient. To avoid air leakage, the recessed windows line up with the thermal envelope of the wall framing. The wood burner is supplemented by a ducted heat pump system. Solar panels on the four-car garage provide electricity and LED lighting is used throughout.
A director of Aotea Group Holdings Ltd, the owner did all the electrical work himself: "I haven’t worked for a long time on the tools," he says with a laugh. "It was challenging but good."
The outdoor areas include separate spaces for breakfast, evening dining, a guest area and a space for their dogs to run about.
Design + Garden Landscapes developed a landscaping plan for the tricky site, using resin-bound pebbles to meet the requirement for a porous material that was smooth to walk on.
The owner says Grindlay, builder Colin Thom, interior designer Candice Van Dyk, of Mooi Design, and joiners Stevenson & Williams all worked well together, making a big difference to the project.
"It was an absolute pleasure and the outcome’s been fantastic."
