A fine line
You can’t compete with a view like that. Luckily this Lake Hāwea home by MJWarchitecture is so impeccably crafted, it doesn’t need to.
WORDS Cassie Doherty PHOTOGRAPHY Simon Larkin
While the service areas were clad in black on the exteriors and the living and bedroom areas tended to be lighter, the colour theme was softened with timber. Resene Construction Systems Rockcote cladding applied by hand inside and out by Greenwood Trade Professionals was an ideal product for the project. The Rockcote system was also used to create the textured board-form look in the courtyard and internal fireplace.
It’s quite a feat of architecture to create a house that beautifully holds its own against some of the most stunning views in the country. On the shores of Lake Hāwea near Wānaka, this holiday home by MJWarchitecture takes full advantage of the vista but isn’t overwhelmed by it.
With sleek, long lines and simple, hardwearing materials, it’s almost Scandinavian in its minimalism, says architect Mark John Warren.
“Being able to enjoy the view was the main driver for the architecture but we weren’t trying to overpower it. As a design aesthetic, it’s very clean, very practical, not a lot of clutter.”
That fits the brief from the homeowners, which was for a holiday home that was perfectly suited to their needs without being showy. The pair are beef, sheep and deer farmers who knew this spot well from stopping over on their way to sheepdog trials.
With the idea that this could one day house their retirement, for now it’s a getaway for them and their extended family.
“They always coveted this section. It’s right at the bottom of the lake and has this fantastic view up the lake with the mountains. It had a DOC hut on it for many years that was very rundown. When it came up for sale, they jumped on it,” says Mark.
Mark is a friend of the homeowners’ daughter, and he had already worked with them on renovating their farmstead, so he knew the way they thought.
“They asked me if I could put something together to see if they liked it, so I showed them a couple of plans,” he says. They loved his ideas, which were initially inspired by old-school shearing sheds.
“The section itself was very challenging because it’s very tight,” he says. Almost triangle-shaped, it has a close neighbour on one side, a road on the other, and public land on the lakefront. A caveat runs through a front corner protecting the sightlines of a building behind. For a very small site, the brief was quite demanding.
There was a smart solution. “We built this house around a courtyard,” says Mark.
Located in the centre of the house, the courtyard is the crux of the project because of the strong wind that comes off the lake, he says. Well-protected and with a retractable louvred roof, it provides outdoor living no matter the weather and is positioned to catch the sun for as long as possible. The mid-century-style sunken living room in front allows the courtyard to still enjoy the outlook, and the two sets of sliding doors, to the courtyard or the lakefront, can be variously open or shut depending on the conditions.
The charred Siberian larch cladding was chosen both for its bold aesthetic and durability. Supplied by Chartek, it is its most hardwearing and popular product. “It’s one of the homeowners’ favourite parts of the house,” says architect Mark John Warren of MJWarchitecture.
During the design phase, the bedrooms were popped upstairs into a second storey to reduce the footprint and, therefore, the build costs, and that also nicely addressed the issue of creating some privacy.
While the house makes great use of the public land out the front by increasing the feeling of green space and borrowing the view of the lake, it does also mean plenty of people wander by. It’s something that just had to be accepted, says Mark, and generally, anyone walking past sees the low timber DOC fence as a boundary, so they don’t approach the house.
The bedrooms and bathrooms also face the lake but, of course, did require more seclusion. The windows are the immediate focus of the rooms, with wardrobes pulled out of the way. But because the bedroom block is set back, the roofline below protects them from passersby. Everything is so carefully considered – even the lines of the roofing material deliberately direct the eye out to the vistas. “Nothing is by accident,” says Mark.
There are a lot of moments that are about being able to take in the view. “My favourite part of the house is the viewing deck, which is a little cube at the end of the kitchen that you step up to. You literally feel like you’re on a deck separated from the house, and with enormous sliding windows in front of you. It’s another device for being able to enjoy the view in a slightly different environment.”
Another interpretation occurs at the front door. It’s a huge pivot door (“like a castle keep”) that teases with its slender sidelight window. “As you approach the door, you get a little snippet of what’s down the hallway. “You’ve got to be brave to chop the view up,” says Mark. “But you find that it’s much more powerful.”
Plytech Panels supplied the kitchen cabinetry and shelving, made from Polaris high pressure laminate. The anti-fingerprint surface is soft and velvety to the touch, offers excellent anti-bacterial properties and has high scratch and heat resistance.
In charge of bringing this vision to life were Andrew Baker and Richard Bell of Lake Wanaka Building, who were pleased to be recommended for the project. “We specialise in high-end architectural builds in Wānaka and Lake Hāwea, and it’s such a small place you do get a reputation,” says Andrew. “It’s an amazing place to live and work.”
The build took more than two years – mostly thanks to delays due to Covid-19 lockdowns that thankfully didn’t cause any other headaches. “The build couldn’t have stopped at a better time for those lockdowns. The first lockdown we’d only just dug footings and had steel in so we could just walk away at that stage. And by the second one, we were closed in.”
Otherwise, says Andrew, there were no problems. Even the public land that was a factor in the design phase proved to be a blessing during the build, as the openness provided all the site access needed.
Communication was important, as none of the key players were in the same part of the country. Mark’s architecture practice is based in Wellington, and, incredibly, Andrew and Mark didn’t meet in person until after the build was complete.
“Mark did a really good job of the plans and all the details; all the information was there for us,” says Andrew. “We had questions along the way but it all went very smoothly. It was an amazing project to be part of, and I’m very happy with the outcome.”
He particularly likes the materials Mark chose, especially the birch ply internal lining, which he took great care in installing himself, and the charred Siberian larch exterior cladding. “It’s such a good way to treat that wood.”
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Mark says the materials needed to be robust, to withstand the extremes of the location. “The owners didn’t want to be doing a lot of painting or repairing. In 50 years’ time it should look like it does now.”
He also kept the palette pared back and repeating: a simple black and white theme is warmed up by the birch ply, which is echoed in the charred birch. “It makes the house feel very cohesive.”
The birch ply is a particular favourite of Mark's. “It’s so warm; so stunning.”
The lighting designer cleverly avoided punctuating the ply ceilings as much as possible, creating a layered lighting plan to highlight the materials. “There’s a lot of uplighting, a lot of warm lighting. It’s fabulous. I think lighting is really underrepresented in New Zealand design but it’s massively important,” says Mark.
All the design choices were in collaboration with the homeowners, one of whom had especially strong opinions and a good eye. She chose the soft matt finish of the concrete floors, and ran with the idea of wallpapers throughout. She and Mark also worked closely on the kitchen design. “The kitchen is so integral to how that ground floor space works. The homeowner loves to cook, loves to entertain, and wants to be the centre of everything while she’s doing that. She was very specific about some things in the kitchen; she’s quite astute.”
That process suited Mark.
“It can’t just be the architect’s dream. It was really good to work with a client and feel like you’re on the same path. We developed a really good relationship where she trusted me totally. She didn’t tell me what she wanted it to look like, she told me what she wanted it to do. So that’s what I’m most proud of with this house, the fact that it really represents what they wanted it to be.”
High profile
Dimond Roofing’s LT7 profile was key to creating The View House, a stunning, weather- resistant retreat with modern design and breathtaking, uninterrupted views of Lake Ha ̄wea and its surrounding mountains for generations to enjoy. It’s in Tidal Drift, a matt grey colour that appealed to architect Mark John Warren. “It’s incredibly hardwearing, and the profile means it sheds water really well.”
Involved in this project
ARCHITECT
MJWarchitecture
021 166 8555
mjwarchitecture.nz
BUILDER
Lake Wanaka Building
027 742 4945
lakewanakabuilding.com
ROOF & CLADDING SUPPLIER
Dimond Roofing
0800 DIMOND
dimond.co.nz
CHARRED TIMBER
Chartek
027 274 6103
chartek.co.nz
EXTERIOR PLASTER CLADDING
Resene Construction Systems
Greenwood Trade Professionals
021 843 889
PLYWOOD SUPPLIER
Plytech Panels
09 573 5016
plytech.co.nz
PLUMBING & GAS
R&R Plumbing & Gas Wanaka
027 365 9861
rr-plumbing.com
