Photographer: Simon Devitt
NZIA 2019 Southern Architects Awards Citation:
‘Intelligent and playful – and with a flash of colour – this hut really is a Kea! The compact holiday retreat is crafted in a robust, sophisticated, and captivating manner. Every square centimeter of space is cleverly and delightfully used, from the ‘jewel box’ treatment of storage joinery to a playful escape in the loft. The interior warmth, containment, and sense of calm belie the siting – the house is elevated on a ‘forest’ of timber piles above the steepest part of a difficult plot. Here, allusions to a suburban tramping hut are more than skin deep. Te Kea is totally without pretension – it is a sanctuary that is obviously a true joy to inhabit.’