The Danish concept of Hygge – a mood of cosiness and comfort, a feeling of wellness and contentment, and experiencing safety, harmony and spontaneous social flow – was at the heart of the design philosophy for our new home on a subdivided infill section.

Energy efficiency, high performance, accessibility and resilience were key requirements. Equally important was the need for our home to be unpretentious, functional, adaptable, and suitable in the future for a retired couple.

The north facing living area has been designed with an outlook towards the sheltered, private decking, and established garden. A feature see-through entrance links to the garage, providing a buffer to the neighbour. The quiet peaceful bedroom is separated from the living area by a short hallway from which the toilet, laundry and bathroom are accessed. The dining area functions as both an intimate space for two and is expandable for visitors and opens out to a second sheltered outdoor space.

A west facing mezzanine with a sea view and a glimpse of the Tararua Foothills offers options for a spare bedroom, home office or quiet sitting area. A skylight filters in north light to both levels.

Requiring a highly insulated, airtight home, SIP construction forms the wall and roof structure, sitting on a fully insulated QPOD foundation. The roof SIP’s extend to form the roof eaves, creating the bold fascia width continued into the wing walls. Triple glazed, tilt’n’turn, uPVC windows are rebated behind the cladding providing best thermal performance, weather protection and aesthetic appearance.

Timber cladding is recycled grey iron back weatherboards manufactured from retired Australian power poles. Metal roof and wall cladding is aluminium, using the dark Horoeka colour as contrast.

Both the roof and wall cladding sit over a ventilated cavity using the Pro Clima system.

The mezzanine floor is solid PLT panels and PLT is also incorporated into the stair treads, entrance sliding door, TV unit, bespoke dining table, vanity units and kitchen elements, complemented by clear finish structural steel for the stair structure, balustrade wall capping and dining table frame.

The SIP’s OSB board material has been left exposed, providing texture and colour with walls finished in a grey wash and ceilings and feature living room wall painted. The Living area ventilation system ducting is exposed, and lighting hung from tracks. Natural concrete plaster features on the stair spine wall, as well as the bathroom and toilet floors and walls.

Completing the sustainable ethos for the home we utilised: recycled plastic foundation pods, a 6.4 kw photovoltaic solar system, a balanced air ventilation system with heat recovery, a 10,000-litre underground water storage tank, highly rated tapware, plumbing ware and appliances and a repurposed ship fitting as the dining room light.