The Tate Home

By COLORSTEEL®

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While London might have the Tate Modern – a contemporary art gallery on the banks of the Thames – New Zealand has Chris Tate, an Auckland-based architect who’s every bit as avant-garde as his namesake.

New Zealand’s own Tate Modern 

Chris developed a passion for art, buildings and spaces at an early age. He also developed a penchant for using unconventional materials to create unexpected relationships that often inspired, and sometimes shocked! 

His love of jet-black buildings with pure white interiors has become synonymous with his style: creating soft, gentle interiors nestled within uninvitingly tough exteriors.

One of his most recent projects – on Waiheke Island – was his own place; a pad where he could work, live and relax. Now affectionately known as ‘The Tent’, it resembles a giant Cicada, hunched and ready to spring. 

The build itself was challenging. Chris describes it as ‘like a large sail under wind load, requiring a lot of supporting structure’. The complexities of this all-steel structure are hidden inside the stunningly white walls which, unencumbered, present a perfectly smooth, clean look and feel.

Clad in an elegantly fine-ribbed Metalcraft Metrib roofing profile in Ebony COLORSTEEL®, it squats low at the back, widening to thrust seven metres high at the front. 

The building required steel purlins every 200mm and a steel spine supporting the two huge steel segments that served as both roof and walls. With on-site engineering input from Team Builders 2000 craftsmen, Chris created his own steel materials to exact structural specifications. 

That’s why he used only steel framing. “It allows flexibility of design. It’s 100% reliable. It’s stable. There’s no variation. It’s unaffected by the weather. It’s also a cost-effective material that’s lightweight and easy to handle. That means it’s less demanding on the builders and allows me to craft my own customised pieces on site.”

The end result really is a work of art; a highly-functional building that’s bold and distinctive yet completely at home in the stunning natural landscape that surrounds it.

  • Material: Colorsteel Endura® in Ebony
  • Profile: Metalcraft Metrib 750
  • Supplier: Metalcraft
  • Roofer: Clive Mathews
  • Architect: Chris Tate
  • Builder: Andrew Sawley
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The Tate Home
The Tate Home
The Tate Home
The Tate Home

Professionals used in
The Tate Home

Chris Tate
Chris Tate
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COLORSTEEL®
COLORSTEEL®
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COLORSTEEL® is made, tested and trusted for New Zealand conditions. We are inspired by the colours and landscapes that surround us and, in turn, we strive to create products that will inspire you. For more inspiration, visit www.colorsteel.co.nz

For over 40 years, COLORSTEEL® has been helping New Zealanders transform their environments. Driven by a desire to create better, stronger and more beautiful every day, we are constantly building on our foundation of practical knowledge, experience and understanding to think differently and deliver intelligent solutions for real applications. We are excited to announce the Next Generation of COLORSTEEL® - COLORSTEEL MAXAM®, which brings together the outstanding quality and consistency COLORSTEEL® is known for, with game changing ACTIVATE™ technology, designed to deliver enhanced corrosion resistance.

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We’re inspired by the landscape around us. From snow topped mountains to tussock grasslands, you’ll see New Zealand reflected in everything we create.

COLORSTEEL® products also undergo intense, long-term colour performance and exposure testing. So you can be sure they’re made and trusted for our conditions. We’re so confident in the durability of our products, we back them with robust warranties of up to 50 years.

For you:
We’ve developed COLORSTEEL® products to meet the needs of New Zealanders. Whether it’s roofing your dream home, building a fence or cladding a warehouse– there’s a COLORSTEEL® solution for your project.

By combining beauty, durability and flexibility, we believe COLORSTEEL® is about more than just a steel solution - it’s about turning metal into magic and transforming the everyday.

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