A small Queenstown home is named Home of the Year 2019 first finalist

Introducing the first finalist for Home of the Year 2019 – a little house near Queenstown which looks like it was carved out of the schist hillside it sits on

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First finalist Home of the Year 2019

Project: Bivvy Hut
Practice: Vaughn McQuarrie Architects
Location: Queenstown, Central Otago

Judging New Zealand’s best architecture for Home of the Year 2019 is no easy feat and this year HOME editor Simon Farrell-Green was joined by Lance and Nicola Herbst (winners in 2016 and 2018), and Paraguay’s Gloria Cabral.

“It’s a daunting task,” says Simon, “but eventually the key projects emerge: we choose this one over that one for very good reasons and we say no, often to fine pieces of architecture.” The judges managed to whittle down the entries down to a strong shortlist of ten homes scattered across the country and embarked on a whirlwind tour to visit them all.

After much deliberation over a glass of wine at the Herbst’s home on Great Barrier Island, the six finalists were chosen. We’re delighted to announce that first finalist in Home of the Year 2019 is this enigmatic getaway in Queenstown by Vaughn McQuarrie Architects.

Designed for clients who wanted a tramping hut where they could ‘eat, sleep, wash, play and read’, the house is conceived as a kind of ‘bivvy’. The compact house has clever, distinct spaces oriented to views of the surrounding mountains, and a fractured form that mimics the rock fragments found on the site.

Watch the video above to take a tour and hear about what the judges loved from HOME editor Simon Farrell-Green.

With very special thanks to our sponsor Altherm Window Systems. 


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