A roundup of success stories by the Gold Pin winners in the Residential Architecture category of the Designers Institute of New Zealand’s Best Design Awards.
Adventure Whare by Studio Well
This holiday home is a reinterpretation of traditional A-frame alpine huts. Positioned between two established trees, its cloaked form provides shelter and privacy. In dramatic contrast, the roof peels up, revealing exposed rafters through timber-framed glazing that achieves an intimate connection with a native bush reserve and the surrounding mountain ranges. The cladding — chemical-free macrocarpa weatherboards — will gradually silver off for a low-maintenance finish that blends into the landscape.
Efficient planning encourages guests to gather and connect in an open-plan interior that’s enriched by the warmth of the timber and renewably grown cork flooring, and accented with colourful joinery, natural slate and brass. Flat-roofed bedroom wings spill off the central space, while a loft perched over the service areas provides ample room for extra guests. A host of carefully considered features have allowed for an almost entirely timber structure with a lowered carbon footprint and operational energy input — a…
