Justine Cormack and Marc Taddei are something of a classical music power couple. He is the music director of both Orchestra Wellington in New Zealand and the Vallejo Symphony, near San Francisco (their seasons are at opposite times of the year). She is an award-winning violinist and cofounder of NZTrio in Auckland, which is where the couple was long based.

But a few years ago, when Justine decided to leave the ensemble, they suddenly felt free to move anywhere, as long as it was within striking distance of an airport. They chose to look for land in the Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island, a scenic area of snowcapped mountains and glacial lakes where Justine had vacationed as a child.

The couple soon settled on a site in Queensberry: a 10-acre parcel in a subdivided development that was surrounded by mountains and overlooked the Clutha River. “When we put our feet onto the land, it felt like an ‘aha’ moment,” Justine says. “The 360-degree views were stunning.”

The decisions followed from there. They rented a place near the new property while they worked with an architect to design a custom home. When projected costs skyrocketed, they began researching an alternative on Hometta, a now defunct website that sold contemporary house plans. That’s where they discovered the Wedge House, designed by Jeffrey Day, founding principal of Actual Architecture Company and a former director of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s architecture school.

The couple wanted a design that responded to the majesty of the surroundings, and Day’s drawings of a sharply angled structure rising at a 12-degree slope resonated with them. “We felt the house would look sculptural on the landscape, which was important for us,” Marc says. “We wanted a design that was really interesting and inspiring, so we were pleased when this thing popped up online.”

Originally conceived—but never built—as a home for Day’s mother, who lives in Maine, the Wedge House became a reality amid the New Zealand landscape. To capture optimal views and exposure to light as the sun moves across the Southern Hemisphere, Justine and Marc inverted the slope of the elevation. “The best view is to the northwest, and north, of course, is where the sun is,” Day says, “so it worked out well that the predominant view is also the best angle for solar gain.”

“The house has all the makings of a home, but it’s also an artistic expression and statement.”
—Justin Cormack, resident

To win local approval, they had to show they were siting the house in a way that minimized breaking the ridgeline of the mountains as seen from the road. Justine and Marc sent Day photos of profile poles indicating where they had decided to place the house so that he could provide visual mock-ups for the town council.

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As building progressed, they consulted the architect regularly about details, materials, and alterations. “The idea of selling the plans is that someone buys them and you’re done, and then the owners do whatever they want,” Day says with a laugh. “These folks were so concerned that I’d be happy with the house, they called me about everything.”

The couple viewed Day’s renderings as a composition they were transposing into a new context. “We’re coming at it from a musician’s perspective, so we respect the score,” says Marc. “That’s what we do for a living, and it seemed like an easy transition to interpret architectural plans into something unique. The beauty of working with Jeff is that, unlike some composers, he’s alive, so we can talk to him and make sure things are the way he wants them.”

Day and the couple decided to bring on a New Zealand architectural designer with knowledge of local codes to draft the construction drawings. Justine became the de facto project manager, interpreting the renderings in consonance with local materials and building techniques. Instead of structural insulated panels, which they felt had too many unknown costs since they’re not commonly used on the Pacific island, they chose laminated veneer lumber framing, prefabricated and delivered on a flatbed truck.

The Clutha River supplied multicolored stone aggregate for the polished concrete floors, which are embedded with radiant heating. Custom double-glazed, thermally broken windows limit heat gain and loss through the odd-shaped apertures, which respond to the slope of the interior and exterior walls and provide breathtaking views in every direction.

“One of the things that has worked out so fantastically is just how well the house relates to the hills and mountains around us,” Justine says. “We can see outside of the house no matter where we’re sitting.”

The layout remains essentially the same as in the original plan. A patio with triangular metal screens on two sides sits at the lower end. Next is the couple’s bedroom suite and then, in a linear open plan, the living/dining area and the kitchen. A second story begins above the dining area and contains two guest rooms and a bath.

The most notable feature of the interior is the continuous stretch of tongue-and-groove eucalyptus paneling that serves variously as a wall and ceiling as it moves through the home. Along the way, it disguises the couple’s bedroom door, as well as a sliding panel above a built-in desk in one of the guest rooms that allows a peek at the living area below.

“When we were building the house, I was worried it would end up with a Swedish airport bar feel, but in fact it’s very homey for something that has that kind of modernist art gallery vibe,” says Marc. “I’m not surprised, but it’s slightly unexpected.”

Justine, who briefly studied architecture before choosing a career in music, speaks of the way the design resolves all the issues raised by the site and their way of living. “Right from the start, we recognized the opportunity of working with an architect, someone who is creating a home that has an artistic response to life,” she says. Adds Marc, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he originally designed it for his mom, but there’s so much thought and love put into the design of this house.

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Actual Architecture Company

Permit Drawings: Ian Perry

Construction: Colebrook & Co.

Engineering: Richards Consulting Engineers

Woodwork: John Fairweather Specialty Timber Solutions

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