Architecture

Spectacular scenery – and sheep – are the first things that come to mind for most of us when we think of New Zealand. For an architect, spectacular scenery is always both a challenge and an opportunity. This was very much the situation for David Ponting, founder of Ponting Fitzgerald (in 1998) of Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand, when he saw the site for what his affluent client hoped would be a “sanctuary.” The site was breathtaking with unbelievable views of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand, and the mountains beyond. Rocky, powerful terrain. Ponting and his client settled on a simple, yet very demanding, brief: Let the land speak. Rather than coming to the site with a preconceived set of shoulds and musts and limiting ideas, the architects kept walking the site. They realised that there were two separate locations on the site, each with its own distinct natural forms, each ‘asking for a building.’ If there ever was a project where the brief has actually become reality, this is it.

‘House K’ by Sekkei-sha (JP 'House K', photo by Seiya Miyamoto The Japanese architectural practice Sekkei-sha, founded by Yoshichika Takagi, designed this broad single family residence on Hokkaido, the northern Japanese island. The interior is special for its village-like central space – the living area and kitchen – which seems to be surrounded by other residential houses. “Considering the cold climate in Hokkaido, it didn’t seem to be the most appropriate solution to make a wide open interior space as outdoors, yet, keeping the house shape on the exterior. The given condition of making an open indoor space led directly to the idea of making house-shaped indoor rooms. “After some trials, it seemed that a set of more than 3 house shapes would give a village feeling, which would potentially create a relationship between indoor and outdoor. more information about the project @ Architonic