The Yopp House.

Slotting into its environment

With a shoreline view and cascaded neighbours across the hillside, it was important to the client that her desire for more space didn’t impact the surrounding views or stand out like a sore thumb to neighbouring homes. She wanted the remodel to elegantly blend in and from the photos it’s evident the decisions Craig & Coltart made, winning the project an ‘Alterations and Additions’ award in Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architect’s 2025 Wellington Architecture Awards.

“We built the extension for the wellness space and garage off the south end of the cottage and nestled into the hill behind. It was important that we did not dominate the existing cottage, so our strategy was to have the extension be visually more like a sculpture in the garden than an extension of the existing house.” David Craig, Registered Architect.

The impact a roofline can make

When designing the Yopp House, the architects experimented with methods to seamlessly blend the extension into the existing structure as if it was that way all along.

David explains, “We emphasised the horizontality of the existing cottage by using a custom formed spouting that extended past the barges giving the perception of a longer roof and building. The same river stone from the cottage was used to elongate and emphasise the original shape, and we chose a dark matt finish colour for the roof to minimise reflection and to allow the beautiful natural views to sit forward.”

Harsh coastal environments with plenty of salt exposure call for careful material selection too. “Precoated Aluminium was specified to ensure a long-lasting finish against the harsh coastal conditions. The profile we used was QBT450. We love the fact there are no exposed fixing penetrations to negatively affect the reliability and durability of the roof which we believe is important for long term value when committing to a solar roof.”

QBT was also used to clad the walls that meld the extension to the roof of the existing cottage, allowing the textured timber screen to sit forward as an element of the landscape.

You have to look three times to spot it – QBT450 with Solar

As you pull into the driveway and the beautiful home appears, you must look twice or even three times to spot it. Right at the focal point of the roof are laminated solar panels, only ever-so-slightly given away by their glossy finish.

You could almost claim QBT450 was coincidentally designed for this solar application, nesting the 400mm wide panels that are laminated onto the pre-coated aluminium and the cables discreetly routed through the vented ridge capping.

No penetrations through the roof, no exposed fixings, no visible cable routing, this system certainly has no compromises to design and performance while positively impacting the environment.

“This was a very subtle solar solution that does not rudely interrupt the roof line or fine texture of the standing seam profile. The installer was also a true craftsman in the way he set out the seams to line up with architectural junctions. It made the whole building appear more cohesive.”

QBT450 compliments the “form meets function” brief

QBT is every architect’s dream - a profile that is beautiful to look at, offers a dryer and healthier home, and simplifies installation in comparison to traditional standing seam profiles. It is where great design meets performance, which compliments this beautiful home and its design brief.