The hills above Tai Tapu are a volcanic landscape covered with fine loam soils and views across the Canterbury Plains, from Lake Ellesmere to the Southern Alps. Our A. A. Milne loving clients purchased a forestry block of approximately 100 acres with a vision to build a house for themselves and their extended family, a series of running tracks and a semi-public pavilion for their running club.

A narrow country lane approaches the house from below, articulating the separation of public and private areas along a driveway that ascends past the pavilion and culminates in a central courtyard. The pavilion is terraced into the slope, articulated by and connected to the rest of the structures by a stone wall built using stone uncovered during the excavations into the site. A tussock roof anchors the pavilion into the landscape and the height of the design so as not to impede the outlook of the main house.

The entry courtyard is bound on one side by a long, low farm implement building dug into the hill that rises alongside the buildings. The far side, bordered by the guest house, is linked and runs perpendicular to the main house. The far corner of the courtyard ramps down to the subterranean garage for the main house. The approach to the house wraps around the courtyard and faces out to the Alps in the distance. The entrance, marked by black stained timber double doors, are CNC sculpted to evoke the approach to a Japanese Ryokan.

Three equally dimensioned pre-cast concrete volumes define the main house and guest house, articulated according to their functions and outlook and linked by gable roofed elements. The strategy of three repeating volumes was partly driven by a desire for a cost-efficient production process and partly because the initial brief included the desire to potentially stage the project. A repeating geometry allows for the ‘missing’ to be inferred. The three volumes also create a series of courtyards and axial views throughout the house.