The Central Otago landscape is dotted with farm buildings, musterers’ huts and utility sheds that all feature a strong rural, southern architectural vernacular, which was what Assembly Architects wanted to honour in the design of this showcase building.

Sitting in the Cardrona Valley between Wānaka and Queenstown, the purpose of the compact and geometric cabin was to demonstrate how the Abodo range of thermally modified timber products can be integrated into a design.

“The project had a definite dual purpose,” says Assembly Architect’s Justin Wright. “One was for it to be a holiday house, and the other was to show off the product that it is built from.”

Being an alpine environment, the Cardrona Valley experiences snow, frosts, and high UV – the perfect setting to put Abodo’s products to the test.

The exterior heavily features radiata pine, traditionally known as a timber that twists, warps, and needs chemicals to be durable. However, Abodo’s modification process transforms the timber to be stable and durable without requiring chemical treatment.

Sited next to the street, the exterior form only offers passersby a glimpse as to what they might find inside. The gable form is derived from the stone sheds that can be spotted throughout the area, but the traditional appearance has been abstracted by the lack of windows.

“We were trying to take the traditional shed forms which are part of Cardrona Valley’s vernacular, but present it in a more contemporary way,” says Justin.

Abodo rainscreen cladding has been used for the roof and walls, with torch-on applied membrane beneath being the primary line of water defence – the water rolling over the roof and down the walls, with the gutter hidden in the gravel on the ground.

“There is one opening that you can see from the outside, but really until you come into the space you can’t tell the size and scale of it because we’ve removed all the window details, the gutter and barge details. It’s just a very pure little form that sits there in the landscape on the streetside.”

In contrast to the restrained exterior materiality, the interior structure and surfaces are a rich articulation of New Zealand’s timber craft.

Exposed structural studs and rafters sit in front of tongue and groove wall and ceiling panelling, providing a quality similar to a chapel.

“Timber and craft go hand in hand, and New Zealand has some fantastic craftspeople that understand timber and how to make it work,” says Justin. “What we wanted to do was celebrate craft, to take traditional building methodologies, but expose those and express them and make it beautifully crafted.”

A wide array of Abodo timbers and finishes have been used to give the open space warmth. Thin slot windows let natural light gleam through, the external battens acting as privacy screens.

The main space includes an open-plan lounge, kitchen and dining.

“Next to the living space, there’s a special piece of joinery that we designed which is specifically to showcase the Abodo product – all of the different cladding ranges, and all of the different timber choices are on pull-out drawers that show you a sample.”

A small bathroom and adjacent laundry have everything that you need, and an open-plan space at the back is used as an office but could easily be converted into a downstairs bedroom.

The master bedroom is found in the loft, accessed via beautifully crafted timber stairs.

“It is very much a camping hut-type facility. It’s all open-plan, there’s no doors – it’s capturing that holiday that you used to have going up to the huts.”

Throughout, the trueness of the studs is a testament to the material stability of the Abodo timber.

“The challenge for this project was it had to be built inside out because the studs went up first and the cladding went on last,” says Justin.

Being built with the studwork first, followed by the lining and membrane, and the cladding last, meant the entire project was built inside a tent – leaving the reveal to the public until the very end.

“This has been a fantastic project, we’ve really enjoyed this and it’s great to have something that is really quite public where people can see it. To see it executed as well as it has been, has been amazingly rewarding.”

Words: Cassie Birrer

Photography by Simon Devitt

Video by Grant Johnson

Constructed by Dunlop Builders, Wanaka