| 3 Silverwood Architects ARCHITECTS T TAnne Boswell Honouring the site’s rich heritage Kuratawhiti Street front elevation. Photo: Robert MacDonnell. A home inspired by memories of a childhood spent travelling through Kenya has earned Silverwood Architects a shortlisting in the Housing category of the 2026 Wellington Architecture Awards. The Kuratawhiti Street Dwelling, built by GNT Builders, is a home “celebrating a life of enquiry”, designed to house the clients’ collection of art and antiques within a subdivided section of Keedwell House’s established heritage garden in Greytown. Thirty properties were shortlisted in the 2026 Wellington Architecture Awards, selected from entries in the awards programme of the Wellington Branch of Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects. After a lifetime living abroad, the two-bedroom home marks the next chapter of the clients’ lives, supporting their independence in retirement through easy access, minimal maintenance, low energy use, and a healthy internal environment. A key design consideration was honouring the site’s heritage while conserving its mature garden, including large deciduous trees valued for their shade, light, sound and seasonal colour. Particular care was taken to retain a beloved Japanese maple. An L-shaped building was created in the corner of the site, drawing inspiration from the client’s recollections of colonial Kenyan bungalows, with welcoming verandas, informal entries and modest plans arranged around a central living room. The home is organised along an X-Y axis, with the kitchen, dining area and vegetable garden on the ‘X’ axis, and the lounge, music nook and study on the ‘Y’ axis. The junction is marked by an informal veranda entry, while a gallery provides privacy, frames garden views and creates alcoves for the owners’ art and antiques. Interior materials and joinery were carefully selected to soften transitions between spaces, provide a backdrop for the owners’ antiques, and complement their furniture. Silverwood Architects director and owner Stephen Geuze says the house is “fantastic”, with the exterior combining corrugated metal and painted cedar shingles as a contrast to We specialise in new roofs, re-roofs, exterior cladding & membrane roofing. 027 541 6933 admin@sbbuildingandroofing.co.nz www.sbbuildingandroofing.co.nz SB Roofing PROUD TO SUPPORT SILVERWOOD ARCHITECTS 022 163 9523 sam@gntbuilders.co.nz www.gntbuilders.co.nz both each other, and Greytown’s colonial architecture. “It was important that the home, upon completion, quickly felt established within the neighbourhood,” Stephen says. Environmental sustainability was also important to the owners. The home is heated by a well-insulated hydronic system within the concrete floor slab, powered by a hot water heat pump. Roof-mounted photovoltaic panels provide electricity, allowing solar energy to be stored in the slab’s thermal mass and avoiding the need for batteries, which can have high embodied carbon and relatively short lifespans. The owners say the internal environment is “a pleasure to live in”, with low operational costs that are particularly valuable for residents on limited incomes or pensions. Silverwood Architects, originally established by Darryl Silverwood and now lead by Stephen Geuze and James Silverwood, has 30 years’ experience servicing clients across the Wairarapa and greater Wellington region. With offices in Wellington and Masterton, the practice operates as one team, with each project led by a dedicated architect and supported by the wider team’s experience, technical knowledge and design thinking. “Every project begins with understanding the people, place and purpose behind it,” Stephen says. “Good design goes beyond appearance; it creates buildings and spaces that are functional, efficient, sustainable and enjoyable to use.” 4 3 PH 06 344 7503 | 184 Glasgow St Whanganui www.walkerthomas.co.nz
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