Copper House
By Anna-Marie Chin Architects
The brief was for a house that challenged the client, a house reflective of the area. A holiday home for two people or to accommodate 12 people. To be long lasting for them, their children and their children’s children.
The site is steep, rising about 15m from east to west, built on rock overlooking Lake Wakatipu with spectacular views of the mountains.
The design is a response to the materiality and glacial formation of the site. It wraps and folds across the slope whereby creating spaces within that are accentuated by growing, shrinking and directing views.
It is a building carved into the hillside. Local stone forms the plinth on which the house sits upon, as of the ground. Clad in copper, the building is allowed to weather, changing and blending into the site over time.
The interiors a mix of raw materials of timbers adding warmth, juxtaposed with hard and solid stone, a reminder of the site and location.
A series of stairs wind up through the building changing the dynamic of the interiors. They are either solid like boulders or open through like stepping stones. The interiors are a play on spatial dynamics, opening up and closing down as one meanders through the building.
An enclosed courtyard to the west carved into the hill provides shelter from the wind. A structured space within which to retreat.
Awards: Finalist in NZIA Southern Awards for Architecture 2016
Landscape: LAND Landscape Architects
Interiors: Anna-Marie Chin Architects Ltd
Engineer: Lewis Bradford
Builder: RBJ Ltd
Photographer: Marina Matthews
Products used in
Copper House
Professionals used in
Copper House
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Anna-Marie Chin Architects
About the
Professional
Our team of 7 create buildings that are beautiful, often simple and sit at ease with the land.
The creative nature and challenge of the design is all important, crafting buildings unique to each individual client.
As registered architects we enjoy working with clients who are interested – inspired perhaps – about architecture, and who want to engage in the design process. This relationship is integral to the outcome, and is based on clarity and trust.
The essential elements of design are texture and space. We select raw materials that invite the patina of age, giving character and warmth to a home or workplace. The created spaces – inside and out – must evoke a response, be it inspiration or simply a sense of warmth or well-being.
Site is paramount. Rather than making an architectural statement we prefer to respond to the land, creating timeless and authentic buildings to be enjoyed now and well into the future.