Encircled by steep, crooked hills and perilously placed on the shores of a wild, windswept harbor, New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, and its surroundings don’t have a lot of flat, sun-drenched sections.

Yet that’s exactly what Kris and Jess Sowersby, the owners of Klim Type Foundry, happened upon in 2012 when they bought a 5,317-square-foot site in the suburb of Miramar and two years later built their dream home and office.

Fast-forward to 2017, when the couple, now with an infant daughter, Indie, decided it was time to expand their residence. They sought to separate the family home from their workspace and create a guest room for friends, family, and visiting members of their team.

The problem was, their existing home took up most of the plot, which is located down a long, steep driveway and surrounded by neighbors.

Should they add a floor above? Could they squeeze in a new wing? They contacted Sally Ogle and Ben Mitchell-Anyon, of Patchwork Architecture, to help them decide.

“At this point I’d spent most of my career working out of a pantry or a small home office that we needed for our daughter’s playroom,” says Kris, who designs for an international clientele that includes brands like Apple, PayPal, and National Geographic. “Building our home, we’d been amazed by what could be done on a small site with clever architectural design. We were confident we could do it again.”

Their brief to Patchwork was for a sturdy exterior, privacy, thermal efficiency, storage for Kris’s book collection, and high-quality finishes in both the workspace and guest quarters. The resulting stand-alone tower, occupying roughly 225 square feet of the couple’s former parking space, is compact and bold.

With a board-formed concrete lower level topped by a second story clad in black aluminum, the Fontbunker, as it’s been dubbed, is barely a few steps from Jess and Kris’s front door and reflects the couple’s commitment to things well made.

“They’re very detail-focused people,” says Ogle.

Downstairs, leathered stone counters made from Brazilian quartzite provide desk space for Klim’s team of three. Office files are tucked in native rimu wood cupboards. An entire wall displays Kris’s library. The parquet floor, brass light fixtures, and sculpted brass handle on a glass pivot door are other notable inclusions.

Then there’s the concrete exterior staircase, which takes visitors up to the guesthouse. A carpeted retreat roomy enough for a large bed, a smaller daybed, and a bathroom, it provides views over neighboring rooftops to Wellington’s hills.

“In Wellington, there are so many properties that have these tiny scraps of yard,” says Mitchell-Anyon. “This project is proof you can build a viable addition to your home in those spaces—a place for work, a creative studio, or an extra room for a growing family.”

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Patchwork Architecture / @patchworkarchitecture

Builder: Dorset Construction

Structural Engineering: Quoin Structural Consultants

Landscape Design: Local Landscape Architecture Collective

Cabinetry: Dazam Joinery & Wood Design

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