It’s hard to imagine  a more idyllic spot than the Kerr-Ritchies’ home, just 20 minutes’ drive south of Queenstown. The grey-green of the local flora offsets the bright aquamarine of Lake Wakatipu; the colour a result of light reflected from tiny particles of powdered quartz suspended in the water. Above the knocked-about meeting table in the studio, there’s a mountain view framed so perfectly it could be a page from the children’s book Heidi.

“We haven’t felt the need to move into town,” says Bronwen Kerr, dryly. Pete Ritchie had bought the land before the two met, with the original intention of building “a kind of bachelor pad”. For a while there was an old shipping container on it, then, as the couple’s three children came along, Kerr says it developed into “a nice little design challenge”.

The house consists of two rectangular pavilions. One end is a family residence and the other is a working studio and guest quarters. However, says Ritchie, “It’s been pushed and pulled to respond to the sun and our needs. It’s tricky because there are views everywhere, as well as heat and glare off the lake.”

Despite the practice’s broad range of residential projects, they’d still pick their own as their favourite. “We try to make things site specific,” says Kerr. “And we love working with strong, sculptural forms.”

“With all honesty, there’s not much I would change. It’s a robust house for family living, with a certain material and pragmatic honesty,” says Ritchie. “Living in such a strong environment definitely affects the way you think, and has given us a braver, bolder approach to architecture.”
kerrritchie.com