Photographer: Paul McCredie
This home sits on a sloping site above Queenstown with spectacular views south to the Remarkable Ranges, to Bowen Peak, and to the town and the lake below. The client requested a house unlike many of the other monolithic plaster houses in the neighbourhood.
It is a dark textured cedar house formed by inter-linked parallelograms that hugs the perimeter of the site to maximise the space to the north of the house. It has dramatic panoramic views to the south and sun-filled courtyards on the north that borrow the green space of the adjoining reserve. The oblique angled planes allow it to capture views in many directions.
The interior is unpredictable. A triangular room with cedar-clad walls forms an extension to the outside courtyard. A Flash of bright orange is revealed at the snug core of the house. A small double-height space in the living room captures the view of the tall mountains beyond. Meanwhile, the house has remarkable privacy within its suburban context.