70 | Saddle House a standout The meticulously crafted Saddle House overlooking Pororua Inlet. Wallace Architects T T Ange Davidson ARCHITECTURE An increased workload was an unexpected consequence of Covid for Wellington architect, Liz Wallace, as people made the most of low interest rates, an over-stimulated economy and time on their hands to plan renovations to their homes or new builds. “It was a busy time for me, and I had to ask new enquiries if they were willing to wait for a year,” laughs Liz. The project list involved residential renovations and new builds, including a house in a new subdivision overlooking Porirua Inlet called Aotea. “The clients had extensive experience in the building industry, and a clear vision for their new house. They knew what they wanted and were able to project manage the build with the right amount of energy and detail,” says Liz. Called the Saddle House, a name derived from its orientation towards a view of the west coast ocean through a dip or saddle in the Titahi Bay Peninsula. The site was chosen for its elevated location and northwest facing slope above the harbour inlet. With a bustling household including three teenagers and two dogs, they required a home that could accommodate a variety of activities and social gatherings. There was a desire to incorporate a range of spatial experiences offering distinct but connected social spaces. They also expressed a strong desire for a meticulously crafted home that utilised high-quality materials. There was also the challenge of constructing a house on a newly developed subdivision and it was important that the house contributed to creating a cohesive neighbourhood and streetscape. Many of the neighbouring houses had been erected by design/build companies for selling, resulting in a lack of connection to the area and poorly considered spaces between the houses and site boundaries. The landowners had attempted to promote original builds tailored to owner-occupiers, but only a few opted for custom builds with architectural assistance. “This made the space around the house an important aspect of the design and we stepped walls in from the side boundaries to create courtyards and planting spaces, making this positive rather than leftover space. We also semi-buried the garage and rotated it 90 degrees to the street to reduce its overall bulk and dominance,” says Liz. The other aspect of Liz’s work is renovations which brings another level of satisfaction. Like the new builds each job is unique and often involving tricky hill sites with various constraints What is particularly rewarding with renovation work is seeing a client’s joy in finally resolving the pain points they have long suffered in their home. “There’s great satisfaction in seeing people have their house desires realised. A lot of our housing stock in New Zealand is poorly designed. “Some houses become obstacles to a family’s wellbeing as they’re operating in an unfunctional and unhealthy space,” says Liz. With the workload now settling down, Liz is focused on how our houses can be more sustainable -environmentally and economically. Her approach is to build less but better. “You can get feelings of spaciousness and generosity through clever planning, orientation to the sun, views and consider privacy. “These basic principles can be applied to renovations, new builds, subdivision development and town planning,” she says. 0800 4 FLETT (435 388) or 027 2424 387 flettpainters@gmail.com www.flettpainters.co.nz Proudly supporting Wallace Architects 04 472 1412 www.cbp.co.nz cbp@cbp.co.nz Clendon Burns & Park Ltd has operated as a rm of Consulting Structural and Civil Engineers in Wellington for over 65 years. Our ability to provide specialist structural engineering skills in a small, versatile and highly personalised team environment is one of the key reasons so many of our clients have been returning to us for decades.
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