By HWA Ltd
Architecture: Hamish Wakefield
Surveyor: Cuttriss Consulting
Engineer: Certa Engineering
Contractor: Progressive Homes
Landscaping: Jamie Reid Landscapes
Interiors: Spacio Caza, Palazzo Kitchens, Wainui Joinery
Point Dorset is one of the most prominent areas of the Wellington Harbour and formerly home to the aptly named Fort Dorset a Battery installation built in the early 1900s.
In the early 2000s, the fort area was decontaminated and prepared for sub-division which made available some of the best building locations in Wellington. We were commissioned to design a new four-bedroom home that was to be an entertainers paradise and home office.
The narrow nature of the site meant something long, narrow and tall was required to meet the brief of the client and fit everything in. Shear double-height volumes internally and externally provide a sense of grandeur and space.
The living areas are spread across the seaward end at ground level with scullery kitchen, mass storage, gym space wine cellar, guest bedrooms and theatre room downstairs with the office and master suite spaces upstairs.
When we were first approached to design the home the clients gave us the freedom to take their brief and design a home to suit. They were keen to maximise the identified assets of the site, maintain privacy and ensure they could live there for a long time.
Driven by a love for entertaining and their careers, the initial conversation revolved around designing something that can be a home for comfortable living, entertaining, work and display their enjoyment of nice things tastefully.
As the building forms and layouts evolved the clients contributed significantly sourcing different materials for the exterior and interior fit-out. The special stone façade cladding on the house is an imported bluestone and limestone contrasted with Specialized EZ-Panel.
The completed project is a highly visible but private home with a contemporary interior that is now a comfortably low maintenance entertainers paradise.
HWA is a Lower North Island based bespoke architectural design practice with projects scattered throughout New Zealand.
We work with closely with clients on a variety of projects that feature creativity, collaboration, comfort and compliance.
Our process has been refined over time to ensure clients are engaged in the design process and involved in decision making with thoughtful and intuitive progressions throughout the project.
Integral to our work is our philosophy of collaboration, industry-leading documentation and quality assurance systems.
We provide visualisation solutions where appropriate and always seek to maximise our clients understanding of their design.
Our design vision is driven from client interaction and site-specific forms founded on the understanding that most successful projects are those that reflect the shared identity of our clients, the site and the fabric of the surrounding community.
Our architecture strives to surprise and delight while providing everlasting comfort.