Our Work

The clients lost the original cottage on this site to the earthquakes. They had always intended the house to be their retirement home. The site was cleared, providing a reasonably flat building platform-which is a rarity in Lyttelton. But with only 389m2, and half of it beautifully landscaped, it didn't leave a huge amount of room for building. The clients wanted a 3-bedroom, modern home that would take advantage of the amazing views. As this was to be their place of retirement, creating a low maintenance home was important.

With the spectacular views and well-established garden at the back of the house, it was an easy decision to have the living on the top floor. The house needed to get as much light from the North as possible, while still capturing the views of the port to the south. This also led to the form of the butterfly roof. 

The house is 52m2 per floor, with 3 bedrooms. Large windows capture the sun on all sides of the house. As Lyttelton has a limited amount of sun hours-especially throughout the winter-this was a critical element. 
The staircase takes up a large amount of floor area in comparison to the house, so it was important to make this a feature. By using plywood to contrast the paint finishes, it brings a layer of warmth into the space. 

Situated close to Rapaki track, this home was designed for a vibrant family of four. They wanted a bold home that stood out from every other house on the street, and to have this reflected on the inside too, with strong colours chosen throughout.

With a modest budget to work with, creating a space-efficient compact home was key. In just 164m2, this home fits a double garage, four bedrooms, a family bathroom, master ensuite, and separate laundry. 40m2 of the floor area is the attached double garage leaving, 124m2 for the living and four bedrooms. And yet it still feels generous inside.

To increase the impact of the home from the street, the front boundary has no fence. By pivoting the plan on the site, only a small gate in line with the front elevation was needed to provide privacy to the rear of the house. This also creates an inviting wedge of garden space adjacent to the deck, that expands as it opens out to the back yard. This orientation of the home also works with the slope and shape of the site to offer protection from the wind.

The third bedroom has been utilised as a media room, keeping the TV out of the open-plan family space around the large kitchen. As the clients love to cook and spend quality time together as a family, this was important to them.

The round window and red butterfly roof are the focal points from the street. Inside, the right wing of butterfly creates extra volume in the living space and bedrooms. It also allows for extra-height windows to maximise sunlight from the north. 

Along the deck, the timber pergolas define the outdoor space and create a beautiful play of shadows throughout the day. Inside the living space, the round windows also play with light and shadow as the sun moves through the space. 

Energy efficiency was important to the clients, so we included wool insulation, uPVC windows and a ducted heat pump.