| 69 T T Virginia Wright Renovation project reflects designer’s skills The overhang faces the lake and covers a spacious deck, which opens the lakeside space up for outdoor living. Complete Architecture: CJ Fisher ARCHITECTURE The award-winning designs of Tauranga-based Complete Architecture tend towards the modern: clean lines, squared forms and extensive glass, which make the most of natural light to highlight architectural features and textural elements. Complete Architecture was set up by Cam Cotton in 2006 after he had worked as a builder for several years. The practice provides architectural design for everything from commercial to education and healthcare buildings, renovations to high-end residential, and from architecturally designed container living to luxury homes in Hawaii. Cam’s technical expertise from his years of building comes in handy when he’s designing bespoke spaces, and was particularly useful for a large-scale renovation of a 1980s’ house on Kinlock Road on the edge of Lake Taupo, which is currently underway. The existing house has good bones, but is the product of its time, and transforming its sweeping curved lines into a modern, highly functional living space that makes the most of the site’s natural beauty had some technical challenges, as Cam explains. “We wanted to connect the old with the new through the roofline that we were designing, so we had to make sure we had enough detail for the builders to be able to work it out on-site. We actually sent the 3D model to the builders, CJ Fisher, just of the roof structure, so that they could really get a good grasp of the concept and the technical details of making it work.” Changing the parapet rooves sorted out the inherent risk of water getting in, while the addition of a big overhang on the new roof line anchors the sharper roof profile with Complete Architecture’s trademark clean geometry, rather than being dominated by soft rolling curves. The overhang faces the lake and covers a spacious deck, which opens the lakeside space up for outdoor living so the residents can enjoy the light, lake views and surrounding landscape, regardless of the weather. “The existing design relied on curving walls, which featured a lot of glass blocks which were iconic at the time but they’re not very transparent, which limited the views, so we updated that and focused on that indoor/ outdoor relationship,” explains Cam. Access to the sunny front of the house was gained with another smaller deck leading off the kitchen, providing an easy place to enjoy a morning coffee in the sun, while connecting with the landscaped area on the roadside of the house and keeping the original 1.8-metre-high block walls to maintain privacy. The client gave Complete Architecture full rein to do what they wanted, but given the expectation that the house will be rented out, low maintenance was a top priority. Every material choice was governed by durability, longevity and environmental performance, leading to the choice of vertical profile aluminium cladding, which also gives it a crisp contemporary look. “We’ve also used bamboo plantation cladding, which introduces some warmth and texture with its natural grain without compromising on the sustainability and durability,” says Cam. The project has just begun, so many of the interior choices, such as what happens to the floor, will wait until the cedar ceiling and wall panelling is in place. Complete Architecture hopes to have completed bringing this 1980s’ house firmly into the 21st century by the end of the year, ready for some lucky tenants to make it their new home. PROUD TO SUPPORT CJ Fisher Construction 66 Rakaunui Road, Taupo Phone: 07 386 8347 | apexwindows.co.nz Engineering where YOU want it www.mobilewelder.co.nz STRUCTURAL STEEL | EARTHQUAKE STRENGTHENING STEEL WORK | FABRICATION MACHINERY BREAKDOWNS | ON-SITE REPAIRS | REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE EMAIL hq@hqelectrical.co.nz PHONE 07 378 8411 MOBILE 021 861 931 Proud to be associated with Complete Architecture Grant Fisher Phone 027 492 6895
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