The owners of this house relocated from a city where heritage homes are often replaced by high-rises due to limited land availability. Kim Dungey reports.
Renovating a traditional house often means balancing historic integrity with contemporary function.
That’s certainly what the owners of this house in North East Valley wanted to achieve.
The couple moved to Dunedin from Vancouver in 2018, buying a weatherboard villa built 110 years before for a Scottish settler named Janet Samson.
Knowing a larger house would cost significantly more to maintain and upgrade, the pair were drawn to the home’s compact size and character.
Walkability was also a key factor and being able to stroll through the Botanic Garden on their way to work at the University of Otago was an unexpected but welcome bonus.
An anatomy academic and a designer of physical and digital spaces, they say their approach was shaped by contrasts: old and new, modesty and luxury, constraint and possibility.
‘‘Moving from Canada, we recognised the privilege that we were not just inheriting a structure but a narrative - one that begins before 1908 with Janet Samson and continues to evolve. Our responsibility has been to refine, recalibrate and respect what came before.’’
The house is small by New Zealand standards, at just 72sq m on a 205sq m lot. But coming from a city where heritage homes were frequently displaced by high-rises, they saw it as a ‘‘unique canvas for spatial experimentation’’.
‘‘Inspired by compact hotels abroad and remote retreats across Aotearoa New Zealand, we designed for efficiency. Integrated furniture lifts off the floor, creating an open visual field. High-performance glazing extends sightlines and maximises solar gain, while a palette of durable, low-maintenance materials ensures longevity.’’
Lost architectural elements were reintroduced to bridge past and present. Cast iron porch fretwork sourced from another villa reinstated lost character, wooden fireplace corbels were returned to their intended place beneath the mantel, the original front gate was restored and an inverted cast iron fireplace hood found new life as a planter at the entry.
The corrugated iron that at some point had been added to the sides of the house was replaced with weatherboards.
Even the brickwork adds a layer of history and character, with hundreds of bricks salvaged after the Christchurch earthquakes being incorporated into the garden.
These ‘‘historical textures’’ sit in deliberate contrast with modern interventions, including full insulation, in-floor heating, extensive custom joinery and a future-ready workspace.
Where new materials were required, vintage-inspired tiles and aged, hand-honed oak timber flooring were selected.
While the pair did not want to make major changes to the layout, they were intent on capturing more of the northern sun and bringing light deeper into the house. To achieve this, they added floor-to-ceiling bifold windows, multiple skylights and interior transom windows.
The aluminium-framed windows and doors were designed with horizontal bars, to reflect the original window details.
The property’s outdoor areas feature durable, low maintenance materials, softened by layers of greenery.
More than 30 bay tree standards (lollipop trees) provided privacy and contrast without the need for higher fences.
A service area along the length of the house neatly accommodates bins and gas cylinders as well as a built-in barbecue which is easily accessed through the kitchen’s bifold doors.
Although the section is small, they have packed it with greenery - magnolias, roses and peonies along with pear, apple, lemon, apricot and lime trees. Hundreds of tulips bloom in the rock planters along the perimeter each spring, adding an extra burst of colour.
Their favourite plant is the Bloodgood Japanese Maple tree they planted in the backyard. It has bright red leaves, which turn crimson in autumn, and they liked it so much they bought another for their new property in Australia.
Although they recently relocated for work at the University of Sydney, they have no immediate plans to sell the Dunedin house, they say.
‘‘Reinterpreting Samson House remains an act of stewardship rather than ownership - an architectural gesture of gratitude for the whenua that has profoundly shaped us.’’
