Home for a winemaker is built on a ridge line in Arrowtown with ever changing seasonal views. The site drapes to one side of the ridge with mountain views.
The house seeks out the abundant views and sun, while maintaining privacy. It is a place to seek refuge in the home no matter what the weather.
This 2 bedroom home is restrained in the use of space and materials.
Article source: RTA Studio + Irving Smith Architects
RTA Studio and Irving Smith Architects was commissioned to reimagine the Rotorua headquarters of Scion, a Crown Research Institute that specialises in technology development for the forestry industry. Aptly located on the edge of the redwood forest in Whakarewarewa Forest Park, the project brings the workforce, previously siloed in smaller buildings dotted around the campus, into a central innovation hub while creating a new campus arrival point to strengthen the public interface for Scion.
Our client New Shoots saw an opportunity in a site which many others thought was unusable. Originally, the site was split into two areas by a stream and had become an abandoned and neglected wasteland that stored and collected motorway run-off. The site was overgrown and an eyesore in an otherwise attractive neighborhood.
Our brief was to rejuvenate the site by creating a nature-centric design that interweaves environment and classroom, while achieving the client’s programmatic requirements and integrating sustainable practices.
The ‘Three Trees’ Early Learning Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, embraces a natural approach that focuses on providing children with experiences to learn from and grow within nature. The pedagogy of the centre focuses on “childcentered learning through play that embraces the great outdoors”, and this philosophy has been carried through in the architectural approach to the design of this Early Learning Centre.
The brief required a home for entertaining and rest that would seamlessly integrate with the neighbourhood, it also called to maximise a dog-legged site to capture sunlight and views. The resulting house is sympathetic to its neighbours, providing privacy through the careful composition of building form and light.
Following the site’s shape, the building unfurls in a series of enigmatic light-filled spaces within a logical building plan composed of courtyards and outdoor zones, each positioned to follow the sun’s path. The formal entrance is bordered by a concealed garage, connected to the house by a ‘zen’-like covered link.
Premier New Zealand car dealership The Giltrap Group needed their new 119 Great North Road, Auckland Headquarters to balance beauty and function – to balance their position at the “forefront of the end-to-end car sales experience” while showcasing their investment in “enhanced engineering and innovation through better design”. Their proposed mixed-use space needed to hero Bentley, Lamborghini and Aston Martin’s ‘star-cars’ in a full-service corporate, warehouse, servicing and showroom build not yet seen in the New Zealand automotive industry. Nine levels needed to connect in one luxurious, customer-focused and highly-functional build.
Proposition: The built object in the landscape has long been a challenge for New Zealand architecture particularly amongst the beautiful scenic backdrops of Aotearoa NZ. On this remote site, where architecture’s neighbour is ecology and geology rather than built environment, how might we address the problem of the isolated building? The Architect’s strategy for a five bedroom luxury lodge in a remote glacial valley in the NZ Southern Alps explores this question.
Inspiration: The architecture draws inspiration from the imposing grandeur of the vastly scaled glacial landscape and the weaving folded moraine across the valley that ensued – remnant topography from the glacial retreat 10,000 years ago. The strategy is to bind the building with the land- to make it an attribute of the site. Topography is the common ground for the disciplines of landscape and architecture and for their contribution to contemporary culture. The lodge effectively forms a new ground; a constructed topography that adds a further fold within the continuity of the existing glacial moraine.
The B:HIVE is a newest offering of co-working space in Auckland; it's also the first co-working offering on the North Shore.
Located on the Smales Farm precinct, the client’s goal for B:HIVE is to create a progressive office space, with green sensibility. It provides a broader social hub, a far cry from a cold business park. The design aims to reflect the client’s ethical commitment with place-making and community connections.
This small cabin was designed to provide a retreat for relaxation and quiet contemplation of natural surroundings. It is located on a south-east facing slope overlooking the town of Taihape with its layers of hills beyond stretching to the Ruahine Ranges.
The site, previously a market garden, was discovered when on a road journey through the middle of North Island. Initially we camped on the site enjoying its beautiful views and constantly changing light and atmospheric conditions. The desire emerged for the retreat to be a studio for art practice and a base from which to explore the landscapes of the Rangitikei – Manawatu. The brief then extended to require accommodation for occasional gatherings of friends.
Entry is from a viewing platform facing north and east.
This alteration and addition project in Ashburton, New Zealand has brought new life to an old home, while respecting its original forms and materiality.
The 58m² addition contains a secondary living room, guest bedroom with attached bathroom, and a “cosy reading nook” all with hydraulic under floor heating, R3.2 wall and R4.0 roof wool insulation, and thermally broken double glazed windows, creating a warm and comfortable internal environment.
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