| 65 T T Kelly Deeks Meticulous design, detailing and construction The limited material palette of concrete block and cedar align beautifully with the winter colours of grey and black in the landscape. ARCHITECTURE Rafe Maclean Architects A special and striking new home from Rafe Maclean Architects has taken a housing award from Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) 2023 Southern Architecture Awards for its meticulous design, detailing, and construction, and the creation of a high performance family home which enjoys seclusion from its surroundings without losing any of the spectacular views. Rafe and his team worked with clients who themselves are builders, David and Bridget Owens of Owens Building in Wānaka. Owens Building has already built several homes designed by Rafe Maclean Architects and the two companies enjoy a great working relationship. Rafe says it was special to be chosen by David and Bridget since the studio was chosen solely on its credentials in this case. David says he and Bridget had high expectations for both the aesthetics and the thermal efficiency of the new home they were to build for their young family, and they knew Rafe and his team could produce a design that incorporated a good amount of both. This home comprises two separate buildings, a garage with office, and the main home, set around an internal courtyard and decking. The limited material palette of concrete block and cedar align beautifully with the winter colours of grey and black in the surrounding landscape, then in summer when the trees green up, the contrast between that and the home is pretty spectacular. From the street, a concrete brick wall borders the perimeter and these two gently sloping volumes peek above it. “David and Bridget wanted privacy, and also the views of the mountains,” Rafe says. “So the height of the wall was quite key. We had to make sure we were not shutting down the views, but focusing them.” The property is accessed through a pair of mild steel doors and from there, the whole atmosphere changes. A pebbled courtyard leads past a water feature to the front door, and this gentle and calm design journey continues in the interior of the home. Its ceilings are lined in oak veneer, providing texture and warmth to the living area, and they wrap down as a bulkhead to the datum line in an echo of the exterior wall. “As you go further into the house, further things reveal themselves,” Rafe says. “The kitchen has a long, peninsula bench and cabinetry on the back wall which travels the length of the room then transitions into a window seat with a view to the mountains.The kitchen, dining, and living areas provide access to the courtyard and decks, and the private wing of bedrooms and bathrooms gives eligibility to how these spaces should be used.” The design was thermally modeled and insulation and windows carefully selected to ensure high thermal efficiency performance. With overhangs to the north, clerestories to the south, and just enough glazing to capture the key views, this home is ideally engineered for shade, shelter, warmth, and comfort. There is even comfort to be found in the outdoor living spaces, where the north facing deck and the sheltered courtyard provide different options for different seasons. David and his family are really happy with their new home, which David calls ‘a big leap from a standard build.’ The Owens Building team worked with precision at every stage of construction to craft this home with unforgiving detailing. This home is the latest example of the unique solutions produced by Rafe Maclean Architects, and the type of interesting project that keeps the team there enjoying their work. “We are all very passionate about architecture and about building,” Rafe says. “Our award is acknowledgement from our peers and from the architecture community that we’ve done something special here.” “So the height of the wall was quite key. We had to make sure we were not shutting down the views, but focusing them.” Keeping it tidy with Owens Building Photos: Mickey Ross Photograph
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