Bendemeer House

Designed as a small retreat for an Auckland couple, Country Residence has ample overflow space in sunny gabled lofts for visiting friends. This project has old-fashioned charm and warmth, and is designed to weather into the landscape as it ages.

One of the first houses completed on Bendemeer Estate (just out of Arrowtown, beside Lake Hayes), Country Residence takes cues from the magnificent scale of the nearby mountains and the region’s rural buildings. It is materially restrained, with a dark-stained exterior of oversized cedar weatherboards and carefully crafted with rustic reclaimed-ironbark lintels, textured copper flashings and storm shutters. The interior is generously scaled, simple and sophisticated – and not without some quirks. The mezzanine draw the eye up to enjoy the surprising height of ceiling; comfort and charm are attended to by a large log fire, book-lined walls and deep stained timbers. A ‘secret bookshelf’ door off the main living area provides access to the master bedroom, and one of attic is allocated entirely to a collection of model planes and cars.

Photography by Simon Devitt

2016 NZIA Local Architecture Awards (Southern) - Winner, Housing category