Trends New Zealand NZ New Home Trends Vol. 30/10 | Page 58

“The architecture is a direct response to the need to link with the outdoors,” Schwartz says. “For example, the approach involves a series of thresholds, including bridges over a seasonal watercourse, that foster the idea of movement and exploration. “The geometry of the house also helps. With its long, angled wing, the building appears to embrace the hills behind. And the forced perspective created by a tapering 30.5m-long solar screen on the exterior guides the view back into the landscape.” 56 Positioning the house low on the site was another way to focus attention on the hills beyond. “For many architects, the first impulse is to conquer a hill by placing the house at the very top. We wanted to flip that idea, so that the hill rises up behind the house, creating a much more powerful experience. It also made sense to build on the flat in terms of construction costs, and there is less noise from the local road. “It was important to keep the house as abstract as possible – we were not looking search | save | share at trendsideas.com to reference residential architecture. And it was only later that we realised we were probably influenced by the traditional long, low-slung shed-like structures that hug the wide, horizontal landscape in this part of the county.” Raw materials were specified for the exterior, including Corten steel that weathers to a rusty patina, board-formed concrete, cedar and eucalyptus wood, which forms the solar screen. “All materials have a natural tendency towards movement and change, and we