| 113 T T Rosa Watson Old friends combine on showstopper The 388sqm home has six bedrooms and three livings spaces on a four-hectare rural site with a rural outlook towards the Port Hills. ARCHITECTURE GEL Architects - DNGC Construction Two lifelong friends have combined their professional talents to create a stunning family home being built just outside of Christchurch. The 388m2 home, with six bedrooms and three livings spaces on a four-hectare rural site with a rural outlook towards the Port Hills, was a collaboration between Auckland-based Gel Architects and Christchurch construction firm DNG Construction. Construction started in October 2023, with completion expected mid 2024. Architect, Tim Daniel, and client Dean Inglis, owner and founder of DNG, the main contractor for the project, grew up together in Christchurch and came together to build the home for Dean and his family of seven. The home has four separate wings with traditional gable roofs connected by gallery linkways. The wings come together to form a courtyard and provide multiple spaces for outdoor living. One wing contains the kitchen, a living area and dining area, and a second contains three bedrooms with separate living for Dean and Tracey’s three younger children. A third wing has the master bedroom with separate living area with sports theatre, and the final wing has two bedrooms for the older children as well as Laundry and triple garaging. There is also a separate 105m2 workshop on the property. Tim said the challenge was composing the wings for well-connected interior spaces and to form exterior semi-enclosed spaces, which he felt had been successfully achieved. “We’re really happy with the outcome.” The house uses traditional timber framed construction on a concrete raft construction, with board and batten and cedar cladding and high raked ceilings. The site has its own bore for water supply, wastewater treatment and will benefit from a hybrid photovoltaic system to aid with energy efficiency Another stand out was the feature wall as you enter the building, Tim said, where cedar wraps into the building entrance. Tim and Dean have known each other since they were four years old, growing up in Christchurch. “I ended up moving to Auckland over 10 years ago, but we maintained our friendship.” When Dean and his wife Tracey decided to build their dream home for their family of seven, they straight away got in touch with Tim. The two had previously worked together in a professional capacity when he was in Christchurch. “It will make it a bit easier for them to get through life as a big family.” Dean and Tracey were heavily involved from the beginning, which was hugely helpful, Tim said. “It helps drive the design when the client has a few strong ideas on the table.” A priority for the couple was making sure everyone in the family had their own clear space in the home, including ensuring that the bedrooms and wardrobe sizes were the same. They were also focused on energy efficiency, being such a big home. It has been insulated beyond the building code, includes a hot water heat pump system for the underfloor heating, slab edge insulation and has a heat-recovery ventilation system. It was the first time Tim had worked directly with DNG Construction, and the two friends had worked well together, Tim said. “It’s been a really smooth process.” He had 100 per cent confidence that Dean would pull off the project “in his sleep”. He said they were keen to work together in the future. DNG Construction is a well-established firm in Christchurch that offers a range of construction services, including commercial and residential builds, hospitality fitouts, earthquake remediation and a landscaping service. It also carries out comprehensive maintenance from minor repairs to full reinstatements of commercial premises.
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