New Zealand's eternal beauty: Mountain Retreat

 Central Otago, New Zealand

Architects: Fearon Hay Architects

Photography © by Patrick Reynolds

>>>

Mountain Retreat is a small structure set within a high country station over Lake Wakatipu, Central Otago. The colours and textures of the cladding integrate the building into the gravel tracks, exposed rock faces and scree slopes of the alpine environment.

Heavily rendered stone expresses the form embedded in the side of the mountain, amongst beech trees. The space is opened via its cantilevered concrete structure.

This retreat is designed for a young family who do not reside in New Zealand. It is intended to maximise the sense of living in the landscape. The retreat is intended for use by varying numbers of people across all seasons.

The design is a simple arrangement of spaces within a predominantly open plan.

A main sleeping space opens over the living space and is serviced by a centrally located bathroom. Sleeping accommodation is augmented by a bunkroom with double bunk, allowing accommodation for anything from a single adult up to two families with children. The overlap and combination of sleeping, living and bathing functions allows for flexibility of use, introducing variety and a certain complexity to the inhabitation of a small building.

Recognition:

Winner of a New Zealand Architecture Award (NZIA Awards 2009)

Finalist for the New Zealand Architecture Medal (NZIA Awards 2009)

Finalist for a World Architecture Award (WAF Barcelona 2008)