NZIA Nelson/Marlborough Award, Resene Colour Award 2017

Jury citation: “This house references forms, materials and even the carport/open garages of 1950s New Zealand. The spaces inside are small but efficient, with a double-height space over the kitchen giving a breathing space to the centre of an otherwise very small house. The east and west courtyard spaces open the house out on to the land, and strip windows look out to sea. The house exhibits a refreshing approach to design and it will be interesting to see how the second house proposed for further up the site relates to this one.”

This is a small-medium 3-bedroom house sitting along a southward sloping hill, looking east across Tasman Bay.

A ‘T’ shaped plan is wrapped around a northwest-facing courtyard allowing views through the house to the sea. The property is a generous size and there is opportunity for the owners to flesh out the gardens, and to further add pergolas and verandas to the east and west sides to soften and shade outdoor spaces.

There are 4 distinct elevations to the house defined by the roofing material wrapping down both the north and south elevations. These are without windows to provide privacy from the road, the neighbour to the north, which gives the house a simple sculptural quality. The location of windows focuses views to the sea to the east, and to the mountains and hills to the west.

Photographer Paul McCredie