Te Mata House
By RB Studio
Deliberately immersed in the environment, this house exudes a sense of lightness and gravity, acknowledging the moods of the adjacent mountainscape.
Situated within a climate of hot, dry summers and cold winters, with beautiful mists that can hang in the valley, this three-bedroomed home is designed to encompass views of Te Mata Peak and the Tukituki Valley. Here, foliage softly meets the rock of the mountain, an experience we have sought to emulate in this house – as if the dwelling has grown out of the rock itself. Calling to mind an ancient Tibetan monastery, this idea of a building emerging from the rock led us to create a unique connection with the site.
Avoiding the local typology of barn and shed-style homes – which rest on the site, rather than within it – we posed the question, ‘how can you live immersed in the landscape without being outside?’ In response, we have avoided the obvious wraparound deck and instead brought native grasses right up to the house’s edge.
Low concrete block walls emerge from the ground to create snug outdoor seating areas, while low window sills allow the surrounding landscape to brush up against the buildings.
Topographically, the three quarter acre site features a raised plateau, sheltered with a hill behind, providing comfort, a sense of security and privacy. Responding to this context, the roof plane extends some distance from the house edge – a deep eave for protection from the elements and a device used to extend the interior volume and the feeling of retreat inside. Beneath this generous roof, honed concrete block walls contain the volume of each room.
In the main space, a 4.3 metre-high stud gives lightness and drama to daily living. Window joinery is set into the ceiling, allowing an almost seamless surface as the roof plane moves from inside to outside. At each end, two full-height fireplace flues provide structural bracing for the main volume, enabling delicate steel posts and large expanses of double-glazing to make the living spaces feel as if they could almost be outdoors.
Lower ceilings in the corridors and bedrooms provide contrast as you move through the house between compressed and expanded volumes.
The house circulation is conceived as a classical cloister rather than a hallway. Occupants move between the cloister (or gallery), which links bedrooms and living rooms. There is a subtle shift in the sense of private retreat versus access to the broader, open landscape.
The Te Mata house is an exercise in balance. It had to be comfortable during the hot, dry summers, and also when temperatures drop below zero in winter. The ever-present view of the mountain is framed in every room, so the inhabitants feel the power of the site, while sheltered and embraced by its deep, broad roof.
Builder: Peter Barbara, BNL Construction
"If we would ever build, we would like Tom to create our new home!” – something said years before we even intended to build.
Years later, the project started with a vision as soon as Tom saw the section. Using the landscape and views to form a special place.
We were impressed with the professionalism, the listening and care, attention to detail, the quality of communication and support - from concept, to design, when it came to specifications, throughout the building phase, till completion and beyond.
Tom has been incredible, very thorough and solution oriented; he is also very personable and it was a pleasure working with him.
Our new home is unique and very special every day to us. We are very grateful.”
G + R
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Te Mata House
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About the
Professional
RB Studio is a design-focused practice. Quality to us means a commitment to producing buildings that endure - physically, practically and aesthetically. After careful communication, we apply innovative thinking to create solutions that transcend the brief. The client-architect relationship is fundamental to this process.
Our work is characterised by clarity, tactile materiality and the dynamic interplay of volume, light and mass. These attributes are the building blocks of good design and are the real forces that shape good architecture. Through a process of continual critique and refinement, our aim is to develop individual design solutions that meet the needs of our clients. We maintain a specialist team that focuses on projects with a cultural and artistic dimension.
As a team we strive to remain flexible, allowing us to maintain a high level of quality and consistency over the design, documentation and delivery of all work we produce. Our team are committed and dedicated toward producing well thought out architectural solutions that are practical to build and functional to occupy.
We utilise technology which includes three-dimensional coordination, graphics, colour rendering and modelling. This technology enables precision and performance, while allowing the office to maintain strong and consistent design. We develop individual design solutions that respond and reflect the client's brief. These solutions are refined over the project development. The client relationship is strengthened by on going communication and dialogue throughout the project. Communication begins with establishing values and principles that aggregate into a concept-driven design approach and outcome. We work alongside a highly skilled team of consultants including Geotechnical and Structural Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Planners, Landscape designers and Project Manager. These consultants are engaged at critical stages in our projects to ensure performance to realistic budget and time expectations.
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