merivale
HOUSE OF THE YEAR
Poynder Avenue
Phil Benton was awarded the coveted title of the Supreme Award for the Registered Master Builders 2013 House of the Year for the impressive construction of a home in Fendalton, Christchurch. This home also won the New Homes over $2M. This wonderfully build home demonstrates an incredibly high level of accuracy throughout.
According to traditional Chinese thought, the Wu Xing or five elements that make up the universe are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The idea is to keep them in harmony, which is exactly what this Architecturaly designed Fendalton House does. Built on a subdivision, the house anchors itself to the tapering site at the end of a long vista of driveway, welcomed by a small water feature.
With a cleverly constructed in situ concrete wall positioned between the living and sleeping spaces as its backbone, the design successfully incorporates a mixture of concrete, tiles and marble. The internal and external spaces are stepped across the tapering site, forming various layers of enclosure and living options.
The rawness of the concrete, layered steel frames and aluminium edged roof planes are offset by the use of wood elements including oak internal joinery and ceilings which take their cue from Scandinavian modern architecture giving the spaces a sense of warmth and material quality.
The house seems very much a harmoniously organic part of the site, rising out of the ground like a natural geological formation and softened by intelligent plantings and expanding into the outdoors, harmony and balance by more wood, the continuation of the concrete into a tucked away pool area.
Architecturally very innovative and challenging project which has been executed to the highest standard, this home meets the needs of its owners to a tee.
