Cardrona River Terrace House by Chaney & Norman Architects

ArchiPro Project Summary - A resilient home above the Cardrona River, designed for year-round comfort and energy efficiency, achieving Homestar 8 standards with exceptional thermal performance and sustainable features.

Title:: Cardrona River Terrace House
Architect:: Chaney & Norman Architects
Category:: Residential/; New Builds
Completed:: 2023
Photographers:: Mickey Ross

A Home Designed for Comfort & Resilience

Perched above the Cardrona River, this home is designed for year-round comfort and long-term resilience. Built to Homestar 8 standards – only the second home in Wānaka to achieve this – it delivers exceptional thermal performance, energy efficiency, and a lighter environmental footprint.

The design takes full advantage of its northwest-facing slope and wide valley views, with deep eaves and shading that welcome winter sun while preventing summer overheating. An 8kW solar system with battery storage further supports self-sufficiency.

Using Structural Insulated Panels, triple glazing, and a thermally broken raft foundation, the house maintains stable indoor comfort while staying naturally connected to its surroundings — a sustainable forever home tailored to its site.

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At Chaney & Norman Architects, great design and sustainability are at the heart of everything we do. By creating homes that are energy efficient with a high level of thermal performance, we deliver warm, healthy and comfortable homes that our clients love to live in.

Every client is unique, so good communication and well thought-out processes, alongside high quality design, ensure that we create a home that best suits you and your lifestyle. Each home is shaped in response to the local environment and to maximise the potential of the site and design brief.

We believe the journey through every project should be collaborative and fun. As a small but mighty practice, we are friendly and approachable, and we aim to make the creation of your home as enjoyable for you as it is for us.

We provide complete concept design, documentation, contract and site observation services for your project.

Our approach is nimble and flexible, responding to the individual needs of each client and project. We search for creative solutions to challenges by blending tried-and-tested methods with new technologies to achieve the best possible results for our clients and the environment.

Beth Chaney and Chris Norman formed a creative partnership in 2018, binging together a wealth of design experience and a mutual passion for sustainable, high performing homes.

The team works collaboratively, drawing on their collective experience to inform their designs. Previously known as Chris Norman Architecture, Chaney & Norman Architects has been helping clients realise their dream homes since 2009.