Houses Revisited: Wanaka house
North elevation of the house on Little Mount Iron.
The kitchen, dining and living area is a large open-plan space.
The large open-plan living space has sliding doors that open out onto the deck.
Dining and kitchen areas.
View from the living room onto the deck area.
The spectacular views enjoyed from the site of this Wanaka house.
Site plan.
Architect Eliska Lewis has designed an inviting family house with a clever staged approach. First published in 2013.
This family house, designed by architect Eliška Lewis, is built on a stunning north-facing section on Little Mount Iron, near Wanaka. One of the nice things about the section – the dense stands of mature kanuka – was also one of the limitations of the brief. Resource consent conditions required Lewis to maintain a minimum 50 per cent coverage of the existing vegetation. This means that the house can be partially screened from a distance.
The house is being designed in stages, with stage one now complete. Long-time friends of Lewis, the clients gave her a clear brief for the house: flexible spaces to allow for growth of the family, simple forms, attention to detailing and good thermal performance. Like many projects for a young family, another important part of the brief was that it needed to work within a reasonable budget.
At the beginning of the design process the couple didn’t have any children. Lewis has now seen them live in the house with their first and second babies. This has given her a unique insight into how the house has worked for the family and the ability to plan stage two in the most informed way possible.
This part of the house – stage one – is made up of a large open-plan living, kitchen and dining room and has a media room and study that currently act as a bedroom and nursery. Stage two will free up these rooms for their original purpose as it will have three bedrooms and two ensuite bathrooms.
Lewis carefully planned the passive solar design of the house, to let in maximum sun during winter and to control heat gain during the hot Wanaka summer. The veranda to the open-plan living space is on the north side of the building and is designed to have sufficient height and depth to achieve these goals. Clerestory windows on the east side let in light from above the tree tops on the hillside and allow cross-ventilation in summer. Polished concrete floors with block veneer walls in the living space act as heat sinks and redistribute saved warmth after the sun sets.
This space enjoys beautiful views out over the kanuka to the mountains beyond. Dividers in the space – like the kitchen bench and a low joinery unit – stop the area from feeling hall-like and create points of visual interest inside. Their height means that the views aren’t obscured from anywhere in the room. The media room and study make the most of the living area – with floor-to-ceiling sliding doors opening wide so that both rooms connect easily to the larger room and are able to borrow space from the adjoining hallway.
A second deck on the south side of the house is carved into the hillside and offers protection from northern winds and the hot summer sun. This is is a quiet and private outdoor spot to enjoy.
The materials for the house were selected to be durable and natural – to complement the wonderful green setting. Lewis has successfully managed to design an understated and comfortable family home that fits so naturally in its setting, it seems as though it has been there for years.
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Note: These are stories from our archives and, since the time of writing, some details may have changed including names, personnel of specific firms, registration status, etc.
