Contemporary builds

"Set in splendid isolation in a small, surf-battered bay on the north coast of Horomaka Banks Peninsula, this rustic style dwelling is luxury accommodation at Annandale, a 4000-hectare beef and sheep farm. The bay is nature in the raw. Seals and penguins frequent the dense kelp beds offshore, whales and dolphins travel the coastline, and piled on the beach are tangles of bleaching driftwood. Faced with such an uncompromising location, architect Andrew Patterson eschewed a modern or abstracted path—which, he reasons, 'would have fought the timeless nature of the bay’—in favour of a rural vernacular form, albeit on a monumental scale.

Known as the Sleeve House, the 2,500-square-foot residence was designed to appear as a smaller volume sliding into a larger one.

Almost every room in the extension has direct access to the outside so the relationship with the grounds is immediate. In addition, carefully considered windows frame views of the surrounding landscape—especially the large window facing the valley in the first-floor living space. “It’s incredibly joyful to see how the views, smells, and emotion of being in the extension changes throughout the different seasons,” says architect Je Ahn. “It’s very tranquil and a retreat in the true sense of the word.”

The table, chairs, and sofa in the living area belong to the Constanze collection, which Spalt designed for Wittmann in the 1960s.