Nestled on a section along Beacon Point Road in Wanaka, an old family crib has made way for this eye-catching build, using Passive House principles to provide a warm and cozy environment for the client.

The brief was to provide an attractive, warm and sustainable home for the Hazledine’s to relocate from Wellington for retirement in style. The home needed to be flexible to stay cozy for the couple over winter but able to expand and host their wider family when the need dictated.

Designed by the team at RTA Studios, this eye-catching property used several passive house principals. The principles adopted meant that the building achieved maximum airtightness and energy efficiency through the selection of materials and building techniques. Over the past few years, Breen has delivered several certified passive buildings as well as buildings using passive principals, which meant we were well-suited to complete this project. Our build teams’ eye for detail and keen leadership, when it came to the material being used, put us in a good partnership with the client to deliver this build.

Sympathetic to the surrounding environment, the building is split working with the slope of the property to maximise the contours of the site. The higher level contains the kitchen, living and dining areas, then as you flow through the long glass linkway towards the lower section of the building, you are flanked by a grand entranceway and a substantial covered outdoor entertaining area. The lower section of the home contains bedrooms, bathrooms, and a study that can be sectioned off.

Underfloor heating teamed up with a ducted heat recovery system, Intelligent Airtightness Membrane (Intello), high-end thermal double glazing and louvres, hold the ambient 20 to 22 degrees celsius. While not officially certified, the construction uses these principles to create a warm and stable environment for the client.

The building is clad in two tonnes of Abode timber cladding, along with cast in-situ concrete to enhance the natural tones. Louvres on windows are used to manage solar gain and create privacy for the client while also offering a striking feature.