The client’s brief was for a retreat for themselves on their site to complement their home. The site was selected due to its elevated outlook across the Omihi Valley and neighbouring Black Estate Winery. There was a strong desire for the project to not have to require a building consent, for it to be cost effective and to reference traditional farm buildings and ‘DOC’ huts.

Russell’s Cabins are named after the late Russell Black who founded Black Estate winery planting the first vines in 1993. The design response was to construct three separate near-identical huts but each with their own character. The huts have a consistent form, structure and materiality, but the differences are their curated location on the site, orientation of picture windows and clerestory glazing, connection to adjoining decks and their elevation and relationship to each other on the site to provide close connection but retain privacy.

2022 NZIA Local Award (Canterbury) — Small Projects, Winner

Located on an elevated site offering views across the Omihi vineyards, a series of three near-identical cabins, all less than 10 square metres, are cleverly positioned within existing vegetation to create privacy, external courtyard spaces and to frame unique views, despite their proximity to each other. To ensure a more efficient, cost-effective construction method, the cabins were constructed off-site, in the builder’s warehouse, and lifted into position to sit on timber platforms. Macrocarpa weatherboard exterior, eucalyptus interior and recycled wharf timber decks, along with the variation in elevations of the three huts, ensure the accommodation sits effortlessly within its surroundings.