We spoke to architect James Warren of Upoko Architects about the challenges, design, and why tiny homes are gaining popularity.
We spoke to builder Sam McGregor about the tensions and similarities between rammed-earth and passive house methodologies.
A lone Japanese maple defines the seasons in this Wanaka Home. It sits in an intimate courtyard, surrounded by gently sloping rooftops that reach out to the peaks beyond.
On a southern beach where seals come ashore and kārearea hunt, this bunker-like holiday home was designed to tread lightly on the land.
This coastal cabin in Mangawhai Heads has a lot going for it. With 270-degree views out across the ocean and back towards the Brynderwyns, it’s
We speak to Wellington architect Amanda Bulman of Three Line Architecture who designed Echo House, a certified Passive House on the Kapiti Coast.
The 2021 City Home of the Year, House on Takapuna Beach by CAAHT Studio, met the challenge of the fishbowl effect, as beach goers and dog walkers promenade the sand beyond the site’s border.
New Zealand residential architecture is dominated by the use of timber, both as an exterior cladding and joinery material, and for internal detailing — and there’s good reason for that.
HOME and Peter Fell present: A Modern Stone, an exploration of concrete in the 2021 Home of the Year, Black Quail House by Bergendy Cooke.
With the sun on its bow and the community at its stern, this is a house in which the elements are always front of mind.
The 2021 Rural Home of the Year explores retreat and openness, gracefully unfolding between retired paddock and coastline.
A mature and restrained response to an awe-inspiring location. The architect has combined a wide range of influences — from Sri Lankan to her own, impressive international career — to achieve a quintessentially local response to site, context, and history.
A challenging tight suburban site competently handled via good planning, excellent control of views and nice separation of guest quarters from the main house by bridge.
Although modest in size and budget, this Auckland multi-generational home puts the client at its heart while at the same time future-proofing the asset for any potential uses that might eventuate.
It takes a certain level of daredevilry and nous to convince a client to build a two-bedroomed home for a family of five.
There’s anarchy in Avondale and it looks a lot like Eames, it sounds a bit like Joey Ramone, and it has its heart set on placemaking.
On the edge of a bluff at Palliser Bay, this isolated holiday home stands firm in a sparse landscape.
Mário Luz devises a simple form — three cedar boxes anchored by a central concrete spine — that settles effortlessly into a flat, rural Cantabrian landscape.
Wellington architects Bonnifait + Giesen explore their long-standing fascination with prefab and show how this Gisborne home fits snugly within that evolution.
On a typical Westmere street, this black-clad double-gabled home stands tall — unrecognisable from the original bungalow whose bones were used to form the basis of an extensive renovation.
Promising spectacular views and extreme weather conditions, New Zealand’s alpine architecture considers protection and connection, refuge and openness, with a material palette that reflects the environment harmoniously.
Eight villa renovations in Auckland and Wellington deliver more than meets the eye, and a considered symbiosis between old and new.
Approaching Jerram Tocker Barron Architects to design a new house on one of Nelson’s steepest streets put the owners on a trajectory to conjuring up an intriguing, diamond-pattern facade.
There’s something confronting and powerful about looking out to the horizon and seeing nothing but the ocean, knowing the next major landmass is thousands of kilometres away.
Michael O’Sullivan folds the sun into an arc — a beautifully curved pavilion that responds to a mature garden on a site just north of Christchurch’s central city.
Pastoral stone barns and a black steel butterfly find common ground on an idyllic plateau above Lake Wakatipu.
On a Mangawhai golf course, a glass-box pavilion is ruptured by three inverted cones. Pip Cheshire discusses the ideas and process that turned this seemingly simple concept into something entirely magnetic.
There’s something about clifftop homes in New Zealand. Maybe it’s a sense of living on the edge or the desire to find the most picturesque spot to watch the sunrise. Here are five clifftop homes where the architect has done justice to the dramatic surroundings.
A difficult, yet awe-inspiring site called for a radical solution: breaking a Bay of Islands holiday bach in two.
Lovell & O’Connell Architects devises a rhythmic form that pays homage to a tight Wellington site.
Wrapped in corrugate and spanning just under 110m², this unassuming home on a hill above the small town of Luggate is powerful beyond its volume.
Designed and built by family members, this house in Leigh is steeped in heritage and ancestry.
Tim and Alison Hay first occupied this home around 15 years ago. They had bought the site in north-west Auckland three years earlier when it was an old orchard with a number of paddocks.
John Irving creates a home that falls away to the ocean in Northland. It’s a bit Palm Springs, this house. It’s a bit casual, and it’s a bit dramatic — but only in just the right amounts.
On a bend in the road in a historic area of Remuera, Auckland, this large site had been mostly unused for decades. An original 1930s bungalow had a certain charm, but its layout and orientation didn’t lend itself to contemporary family life — or make the most of the site.
On the divide between suburban street and wild dunescape, Brian White carves a retreat from a singular form.
The nickname “swamp house” expresses the home’s proximity to the marshy paddocks resting below it on the Crown Range between Queenstown and Wanaka but it
Bach living is a stripped-back approach to life: family time spent eating, playing board games and puzzles in the evening, and during the day getting outside and enjoying what the natural environment has to offer – water sports, backyard cricket and mountain biking.
A spacious Mid-Century modern-inspired home in Orakei proves that you don’t need a huge amount of land to have four bedrooms and multiple living spaces, particularly when less than half of the home touches the ground.
It’s a familiar story: when youngsters enter the picture, the excitement of the big-city dream tends to pale. Childhood memories of beaches, open space and
A Kerr Ritchie–designed home influenced by a love for the outdoors. Liisa hand-made a flag that read “Boys aboard”. The idea was to hoist it onto the mast of their catamaran while approaching a new port, thus alerting other boatie families that young children had arrived and any form of socialising would be welcomed.
Claude Megson’s unique contribution to New Zealand architecture had almost disappeared from view when this house, his masterpiece, was saved from demolition. These days, its
On a leafy site in the Waikato, Tane Cox crafts a subtle home for three generations.
This Kiwi bach was designed as a response to the environment and history of the Coromandel. Discover how this home reflects its surroundings.
On a leafy site in the Waikato, Tane Cox crafts a subtle home for three generations Ben Lee had just finished building four houses on
Our annual Home of the Year award is New Zealand’s most prestigious architectural prize, with a cheque of $15,000 going to the winning architects. In
Faced with a small budget and big design ideas, the PAC Studio team sweated each and every detail, seeking the most efficient plan possible to
With a brief for a home without a garden that sat amongst the vines, Stuart Gardyne discusses how he adopted an elemental design for this
Architect Ben Daly rehabilitates a farm building with a long family history on the Canterbury Plains. He discusses why he chose to make a shearing
We spoke to Louise Wright from Assembly Architects about her recent build in Central Otago which has drawn inspiration from mid-century architecture Q&A with Louise
Modernist and elemental, this house in a Marlborough vineyard by Stuart Gardyne proves that country living need not be rustic “A paddock with grapevines on
Despite this Kaipara Harbour home’s modest budget, PAC studio team managed to create an elegantly rural space for this Auckland commuter In recent years, aspiring
Assembly Architects drew on lightweight Californian modernism to craft this elegant mountain retreat The privilege of living in Central Otago’s dramatic landscape often means making
Originally built in the 1960s and left unused for decades, this farm building on the Canterbury Plains is another masterful revival by architect Ben Daly
Tricky site limitations meant the architects of this home needed to get creative with its design. Discover how they achieved such a light and airy
Paul and Sue Webber found the perfect furniture for their multi-generational Tauranga holiday home; in their son’s furniture showroom – Tim Webber Design Paul Webber—
Lance and Nicola Herbst take us inside one of their original designs: a 20-year-old bach on Great Barrier Island Q&A with architects Nicola and Lance
Sitting on fairly public site, this Waiheke Island holiday used clever design and thoughtful material choices to quietly slip from view Q&A with architect John
Architect Piers Kay of Fearon Hay channelled the intimacy of camping and created a holiday section many would find hard to leave Q&A with architect
A notional shed on a jetty was the inspiration for this impressive bach above a beach on Kawau Island Q&A with Sam Caradus of Crosson
A beach house on Waiheke Island by John Irving quietly slips from view, without having to put up a fence. Here’s how they did it
An unobtrusive Piha home makes the most of its small site in the bush by elevating the sleepout into the air Q&A with Jose Gutierrez
The Herbst bach on Great Barrier Island turns 20 this summer. Simon Farrell-Green looks back at how this project was instrumental for their career There
Fearon Hay has designed two elegant cabins that redefine what we’ve come to expect from a back-to-basics encampment A few years ago, a couple with
A notional shed on a jetty was the inspiration for this impressive bach above a beach on Kawau Island Bon Accord Harbour is long and
The home of Pete Bossley and his partner Miriam van Wezel has evolved over 18 years, with outdoor areas being amended to accommodate best use,
An unobtrusive Piha home makes the most of its small site in the bush by elevating the sleepout into the air There’s something magical about
Built in place of the original family bach, discover how this Opahi Bay holiday home maximises sunlight and plays homage to childhood memories Project Family
Pic Picot, of Pic’s Peanut Butter, had a simple brief for his holiday spot: he didn’t want a house. See how architect Julian Mitchell designed
Faced with a difficult alternation, architect Henri Sayes used a clear and uncompromising vision to create this wonderful little apartment. He discusses the design process
Jose Gutierrez responds to a call for a sunken lounge with a clever design that fits the needs of a young family and their friends
The architects from Pac Studio deploy light and fun through materials for a bungalow extension. See its bright yellow floors below Q&A with Dr Sarosh
Four mid-century enthusiasts resurrect an original design by Allan Mitchener Q&A with Matt Arnold, of Sons & Co, and Prue Johnstone of JCA You describe
Sixteen years on, Daniel Marshall reworks an early design with a fresh new perspective. See inside this impressive concrete home below In some ways, 2003
Q&A with architect Rich Naish of RTA Studio The owners have gone from a tiny cottage to a substantially larger home. How does it work
Pac Studio deploys light and fun through materials for a bungalow extension Some regard puns – especially egg puns – as the lowest form of
Four mid-century enthusiasts resurrect an original design by Allan Mitchener. Take a tour of this restored gem in Christchurch here.
Sixteen years on, Daniel Marshall reworks an early design with a fresh new perspective Q&A with architect Daniel Marshall of DMA What’s it like revisiting
Henri Sayes floats a new apartment on top of concrete commercial building When you’re presented with an alteration that’s sandwiched between a rock and a
Richard Naish taps into family heritage to extend this character cottage in Christchurch When Jo and Alistair Blair were ready to extend their two-bedroom cottage
With a few smart moves and a clever plan, Spacecraft Architects create a dynamic little house in Tokomaru Tokomaru is about 20 minutes south of
After seeing many masonry buildings lost in the Christchurch earthquake, this couple saw an opportunity to retain and enhance this 1940s character building Q&A with
A sharp small house by Patchwork Architecture floats above a vertiginous Wellington site. We talk to Sally Ogle and Ben Mitchell-Anyon about how they approached
As someone who travels a lot for work, it’s fitting that Graeme Nicholls’ small, one-bedroom home in Lyall Bay is nicknamed ‘Suitcase’ house Project ‘Suitcase’
As a result of soaring property prices and recent changes to Auckland’s Unitary Plan, this family found a savvy solution to their quest for a
Determined to keep the historical facade as it was, Mark Cannata cleverly inserted a crisp new home into an old stone ruin in Sicily, without
A sharp little house by Patchwork Architecture floats above a vertiginous Wellington site Let’s start with the roof. Builder Adam Pierson and his wife Alicia’s
Determined to keep the historical facade as it was, this architect cleverly transformed the interior of this old stone ruin without touching the exterior Q&A
When the Auckland Unitary Plan allowed this couple an as-of-right minor dwelling, they wondered if they could live well on a 65 square metre footprint.
With a few smart moves and a clever plan, Spacecraft Architects create a dynamic small house in Tokomaru Q&A with Tim Gittos of Spacecraft Architects
Architectural designer Ben Brady creates a modern take on rural living for a couple who had lived on the same land for 40 years. Situated in Spotswood, a region known for its pastoral history, the home is designed to make better use of the site’s beautiful rural setting.
The New Zealand Institute of Architects Local Architecture Awards have started to be announced for 2023. Here’s a look at the some of the winning houses in Wellington and Canterbury.
On the shores of Wellington Harbour, this home for a young family was designed to embrace its coastal surroundings while feeling lofty and contemporary.
Appearing to both float above and disappear into the land, this Tāwharanui holiday home is a place of tension and beauty.
This home that steps down a bush-covered hillside in what is arguably one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand is both a statement and a piece of architecture that recesses subtly into the beauty of the landscape that surrounds it.
Simplicity, spatial articulation, and a nearly microscopic attention to detail ensure this coastal Mount Maunganui home by Brendon Gordon Architects and Weekday Studio works beautifully for its inhabitants.
Turning its face to forest and sea, this holiday home is devised as a basic shelter — albeit one of grand proportions and an undeniably alluring simplicity — that rises to every occasion.
Architectural designer Ben Brady creates a modern take on rural living for a couple who had lived on the same land for 40 years. Situated in Spotswood, a region known for its pastoral history, the home is designed to make better use of the site’s beautiful rural setting.
The New Zealand Institute of Architects Local Architecture Awards have started to be announced for 2023. Here’s a look at the some of the winning houses in Wellington and Canterbury.
