Sanctuary for all seasons

A casual meander over stone pavers links a sequence of gardens to a spacious central courtyard at the heart of this Wānaka home. The courtyard allows the house to regulate its temperature and provides shelter out of the wind, while also drawing landscape and light into the urban context. PHOTOS: STUDIO COLLISION

A Wānaka house is designed to be an adaptable retreat in a changing environment, Kim Dungey reports.

Located within walking distance of Wanaka’s town centre, this site has been occupied by the same homeowners for more than two decades.

The terrace provides easy access between the kitchen and dining room and the lawn.

For many years, the Christchurch couple holidayed in a small blockwork house that sat on the section. Their children played cricket on the large front lawn and roamed freely to neighbouring properties, which still belong to extended family and remain unfenced.

As Wanaka transformed from quaint town to busy urban area and greater intensification looked likely, the couple considered creating a home to accommodate several generations and serve as a retreat in the changing landscape.

The prevailing wind in summer is a northwesterly which blows up the lake and makes living outdoors difficult at times of the year when it is most needed. The outdoor dining room is completely covered and contains a large fireplace as well as sliding shutters for flexibility. The landscaping is by Jared Lockhart Design.

To design it, they turned to Auckland-based Roberts Gray Architects, where their son and daughter-in-law, Jimmy and Elspeth Gray, and fellow director, Nick Roberts, collaborated on the project. Meanwhile, their daughter, Georgina Vink, of Constructure, was the main design engineer.

The street elevation is deliberately abstract, creating a sense of curiosity. This is heightened by glimpses of the garden, seen through timber screens.

Jimmy Gray says urban intensification — increasing the density of houses within existing built areas — is a real talking point in Wanaka, with changes proposed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council set to vastly change the landscape.

Intensification in one form or another is a given and the new house needed to stand on its own, "no matter what happens around it".

From the street, the facade is deliberately abstract to create a sense of intrigue. This "draws you into the house, which opens up once you get inside the courtyard".

Cabinetry and furniture are built in and slot seamlessly into the architecture.

In the kitchen, American oak, Japanese cedar and Silver River marble provide rich, warm tones and reference the broader site context of rivers and mountains.

The property consists of a series of solid, concrete block forms, tied together by lightweight screens, courtyards and carefully placed window and door openings. These not only give a balance between openness and enclosure but create dynamic interplays of light and shadow within.

Gray says the house needed to work equally well for two people and for extended family, including grandchildren.

"[One] consideration revolved around the ability to find privacy when accommodating large numbers of people. The solid forms become static zones — lounges, bedrooms, bathrooms — places to escape to. The lightweight forms that link these spaces are more transitional — kitchens, corridors, outdoor spaces and courtyards."

The experience of living in the house is also different depending on the season. In winter, a low-lit, dark-clad mudroom transitions to a light-filled interior with framed views of the mountains. In summer, a casual meander over stone steps links a series of gardens to a spacious central courtyard at the heart of the home.

While the local vernacular is usually understood to be a gable roof and stone walls, it was decided to "push back" at what that might mean.

"When you look at the [region’s] old stone buildings, they’re real mass construction so that played into the mass of the concrete block [forms]", he says.

Living spaces in Wanaka are often positioned on the upper floor to prioritise views rather than a connection to the site, but here the architects decided to do the opposite.

Glass mosaic tiles in the bathrooms absorb and reflect the changing light, adding movement and texture.

Skylights and courtyards enable the sun to be drawn into bedrooms throughout the day and, when opened, allow for passive cross-ventilation.

"There’s always a better view in places like that and people are always building for it but I sort of see that as a missed opportunity in some ways ... Yes, there are views and you have to acknowledge them ... but there’s also an element of living on the ground floor and having a connection to the land", he said.

In this case, all the living areas and two of the bedrooms are on the ground floor. Only the main bedroom and en suite are above.

There is still a lake and mountain view from the lower level but instead of living "out on a balcony", the occupants can open the doors and sit in a courtyard, protected from the wind and sun.

The result is a house that is more liveable and more fluid, he says.

"Also it’s about appreciating that you’re in this amazing landscape when you go out for a coffee. You’re in this amazing landscape when you go out on a bike ride. It’s everywhere anyway so it’s about trying to find beauty within the space that you’ve created and looking back at that as well."

A limited palette of natural materials creates continuity between inside and out.

Charred Japanese cedar and locally sourced concrete blocks were selected for their ability to withstand the harsh conditions. Schist paving from Lindis Pass was chosen because it is browner than Wanaka or Queenstown schists and a counterpoint to the greys of the masonry. Marble slabs in the house have prominent veins that reference the rivers and mountains beyond, while glass mosaic tiles in the bathrooms absorb and reflect changing light.

All materials were left in their natural state, promoting weathering over time and minimising maintenance costs.

The view from the upper level to the north, over Lake Wanaka, takes in the Buchanan Peaks.

The blockwork serves as both structure and cladding, with a double-skin construction wrapped in insulation. The house remains naturally cooled when it is hot, while the heat absorbed into the blockwork releases internally when the outside temperature cools.

Courtyards, window placement, skylights, large eaves, thermally broken window joinery, low-E glass and integrated bug screens make the building "highly responsive" to seasonal change. There is no air-conditioning or mechanical cooling but operable doors and screens allow for cross-ventilation. In winter, the house is heated via a hydronic heating system, which also controls the water heating. Solar panels and a Tesla battery enhance efficiency, managing power use and running costs.

Shortlisted for the 2024 Southern Architecture Awards, the property is an urban sanctuary in a dynamic landscape and one that future generations can enjoy.

"It’s like a transitional, intergenerational project and somewhere that we can always call home and come back to", Gray says.