By Assembly Architects
Set atop a large garage – a richly detailed dark cinema sits in stark contrast to a bright white bar and balcony overlooking a formal garden. Sound and light absorbing cinema walls and ceilings formed with black-painted matchstick cedar battens on acoustic backing creates an opulent blackness in which to enjoy the audio visual experience, while recycled timber beams accentuate the gabled ceiling and provide continuity between the cinema and bar.
Among vintage lemon and camellia trees, a gymnasium is partially buried into the ground to sit hidden from the formal walled garden beyond. The sunken aspect gives rise to interesting details: the recycled matai floor folds up the walls to meet the windows and accentuate the depth, and a concrete cantilevered platform and precast step lead one from the stony path outside down into the light filled space.
The membrane roof is gently curved to eliminate the need for gutters – this is carried through to the interior where a curved white ceiling is reflected in the full length mirror wall. Bespoke steel detailing interrupts the mirror to provide a ballet barre, and hi tech systems abound for audio visual, gym equipment and heating and ventilation.
AWARDS
Awarded New Zealand Institute of Architecture Small Project Award, Wellington Region.
Assembly is an Arrowtown based architecture practice delivering exceptional architecture with personality, connection to landscape and considered construction.
We design homes and special projects in the Queenstown Lakes district, Wanaka and Central Otago. Current projects include heritage sensitive homes in Arrowtown, a rammed earth home in Wanaka, and distinctive new homes at Mount Cardrona Station, the Crown Terrace, Ben Lomond and Lowburn Mt Pisa.
Our homes are decidedly personal and individual, strongly connected to landscape, and expressed with detailed materiality. Design communication is huge to us. We utilise design tools that visually communicate the design in an engaging, interactive and visually realistic method.
Registered Architects Louise Wright and Justin Wright established Assembly in Wellington in 2005, and moved to Arrowtown in 2012. Our Arrowtown studio is situated on Arrow Lane in the heart of Arrowtown’s historic town centre.
The studio comprises a tight knit and talented team – Emma Schmitz, Marcus Kirk, Simon Khouri, Catarina Peeters and Matt Connolly, who together with Justin and Louise work in small teams to bring your design to life
In 2019 Assembly was a founding signatory to the NZ Architect’s Declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency.
Assembly is a New Zealand Institute of Architects practice.