This award-winning home on the edge of the Waikato River is the perfect balance of form and function. Designed by Edwards White Architects, it is a refuge in Taupiri, in tune with its landscape and drawing inspiration from its stunning surroundings: mountain ranges, moving water and layers of green.
The simple skewed form of this house has an appropriate scale and presence within the wider landscape. Capturing a sense of informality was a key design driver in creating a small family home that felt like a retreat. The kitchen is the hub of the home with the deck slicing through the plan. The living space steps down into a light filled volume reaching out to the river.
A 2018 New Zealand Architecture Award winner, it was described by the NZIA jury: “This small but sufficient house for the architect’s own family is a labour of love and the product of considerable skill. It’s a case of the house as homestead: a timeless type in contemporary guise. The design is an economic but also romantic response to site conditions – the busy highway to the east and the Waikato River right on the property boundary to the west – and the occupational demands for light and views, and privacy and a sense of shelter. Strength of form and delicacy of detail combine in a modestly-scaled and delightful work of architecture.”
River Retreat is for sale by tender through Wei Sen Hartles & Co. View the full listing here.
