New Zealand Getaways

One side of the building contains two simple bedrooms and a bathroom. The other, larger side houses the open-plan living area, kitchen, covered deck with fireplace, and additional bedroom. The deck-hallway that runs the length of the building is partially covered, but the decking boards and inset fiberglass door panels allow air and light to penetrate. The architects wanted to suggest that moving between the different living spaces involved a trip through nature, as it does in traditional camping.

Breaking up the roof planes and concrete floor plates allowed the house to blend into the landscape. The wall that wraps the building ensures it is still a single, coherent form.

The topography proved challenging so the designers elevated the house on piers.

Rookie firm Patch Work Architecture used locally sourced Lawson cypress to clad the exterior of a 970-square-foot house in New Zealand. Vibrant painted accents contrast with the otherwise neutral structure. Steel trusses, painted in a blue hue called Lochmara from Resene, are visible through the fiberglass panels on the veranda. Photo by: Paul McCredie