The High Life

Here’s proof that exceptional doesn’t need to be enormous. The 153sqm home on a high, steep site was designed to make the most of the view, a north-facing corridor that takes in the city of Wellington and its harbour. It certainly achieves the goal, and plenty more besides. You can’t look past the engineering that allows the steel foundations to appear as minimal as possible, giving the impression the house is floating. At its highest, the property the builders dubbed the ‘spider home’ (because of its long legs), is 11 metres off the ground. Once you understand the skill involved, you can note what has been produced, a cosy, stylish two-bedroom house with extensive decking and landscaping, beefed-up insulation, thermally broken joinery and an oversized solar power system to generate and store much of the home’s energy needs.