This small holiday home was built on what has been described as an "awkward sliver of land". Kim Dungey reports.
Perched on poles among the trees, this tiny holiday home in Wānaka manages to feel playful and sculptural.
It’s the second dwelling built for the Wellington-based owners on the same site. Its neighbour on the section - the award-winning "Te Kea Hut" - was completed in 2018.
The two buildings are similar in size, structure and material makeup, but this one is on the lower part of the section, which had established plantings.
Project architect Amanda Snow, of Rafe Maclean Architects, says a need to avoid council drainage easements and to fit around existing trees dictated both its position on the site and its curvaceous shape.
The two-bedroom Rippon Lea home follows the gradient of the land, stepping down over four floors - although there are only a few steps between each level.
Recessed into the facade for shelter, the front door opens into a transition space which includes an area for coats and entry to the bathroom.
Steps lead down to the double-height central living space, then down again to the main bedroom. A ladder from the living area leads to a sleeping loft, with high windows that provide ventilation and glimpses of the garden.
Skylights above the living area pull in natural light, while a window seat alongside the wood-burner is an ideal spot to relax on winter days.
Snow says the home feels calm and relaxed, thanks to its materials, simplicity and surrounding greenery: "There’s something quite lovely about looking out on nature."
Because it is only 60sq m, it was important to be clever with planning and avoid any redundant areas. The high ceiling and skylights provide a sense of spaciousness and there is no hallway - instead, all the areas are connected.
Windows were carefully positioned and sized to provide as much light as possible and views to the garden, while screening out the neighbours.
The lichen-green corrugated cladding is sympathetic to the surroundings while ensuring the house does not stand out too much.
Having softened, rounded corners instead of square, "abrupt" ones was also a way to make the building appear smaller.
"In adding a second building on the site, we wanted to ensure that it complemented the existing one and wasn’t too overbearing."
For Owens Building, the apparent simplicity of the pod belied the complexity involved in its construction. The company’s challenges ranged from pulling off the curved internal gutter to installing the ply ceilings over spruce rafters before the roof was in place - no small feat during a particularly wet autumn. With no vehicle access, the frames had to be made on the only flat area at the top of the site and carried down along with all the other materials.
Named for the bird that is a frequent visitor to the owners’ Wellington property, Kākā Pod has been shortlisted in the Southern Architecture Awards. It was also recently named HOME magazine’s small home of the year.
The judges described it as a small gem that was full of surprises: "The designers have used curvature and inspired proportions to craft a standout little nest."
