Cost

The site located beside the Tukituki River, views of Napier to the north and Te Mata Peak rising to the west, is generally flat pasture.  The house is the starting point for a lifestyle development which is to include a flagship winery for the newly launched Matariki label.

The client desire for a mainly single level house and the open site generated a U shaped structure.  This plan form simultaneously providing enclosure and openness, a sheltered secluded inner courtyard and open verandah exposed to the elements.

Formal massing remembers the Tuscany vineyard vernacular of simple shed forms sited to capture sun and views.  The house reveals itself in a grand sequence through low and high spaces, under flat and pitched ceilings, passing from enclosed garden courtyards to an arcaded pool terrace and tennis court, from shade to bright light.

Ron Seeto  B.Arch(Hons)