Hill House

This family home sits neatly up on Richmond Hill with views that span from Sumner’s Cave Rock right up to the Kaikoura Ranges. The sloping property required careful consideration when designing the house. Split-level floor plates were adopted with one smooth mono-pitch roof leading to a contemporary styled home. The brief was to design a home to suit a modern family with teenage children. The home was to allow for close family living and space too, for retreat. The expansive views across the ocean were a focal point of the design. Access was from above the property and down a steep driveway into the courtyard area. When entering the house through the narrow entry, the house opens up as the ceiling slopes with the land, and the main stairs lead down into the main living areas with high ceilings. Split level floors allow for the house to better follow the slope as it settles into its surroundings. The garden has been lifted right up to just below floor level by way of raised garden boxes. This encourages a visual connection from inside to outside and softens the appearance of the house being high out of the ground in some places. This method of design negates the need for balustrades along the edge of the deck. Was there anything different around the construction? The owner/builder wanted to build the foundations in an efficient way that was not complicated, due to the split levels and angles. We adopted Megaforms ICF (Insulated Concrete Formwork) to form the perimeter foundation walls for the home which provides excellent insulation properties too.