Home New Zealand April 2018

Sometimes, what you leave out says more than what you put in, and that could not be more true for Home of the Year 2018. If there’s a theme to this year, it’s that our finalists – and magnificent winner at Piha, Auckland, by Lance and Nicola Herbst – are all defined by restraint. Take our winning home, designed for an Auckland family as a beach house that will gradually transition to a more permanent residence. It has all the hallmarks of greatness: on an iconic beach, surrounded by ancient pōhutukawa, with a view over the dunes to the Tasman Sea. The sunsets are spectacular, and the water is just a short stroll down a meandering beach track. To make a house as good as this takes enormous skill, a sympathetic client…

Mary Gaudin Based in the south of France, the New Zealand photographer regularly returns to New Zealand and recently photographed a house in Miramar, Wellington, by Andrew Sexton (p.110). What did you enjoy about photographing the house? It was fantastic to photograph – the light constantly changes throughout the day, casting dramatic light and shadow in beautiful patterns. I enjoyed capturing these effects as they appeared. You work on projects in New Zealand on your return trips? Over the past few years I’ve been doing more and more projects in New Zealand and the plan is to find a way back permanently. What are you working on at the moment? I'm looking forward to photographing a number of interesting houses in the spring. Then there’s the Salone de Mobile in Milan…

Design— Inspiration is found across a range of mediums – from art and film to new and vintage products.…

Garage Project opened in Aro Valley in – yes – an abandoned service station in 2011, and quickly become leaders in the New Zealand craft-beer scene. They’ve now opened their first location in Auckland – a ‘cellar door’, warehouse and office. “After Wellington, we used to send more beer to Melbourne than the rest of New Zealand,” says co-founder Jos Ruffell. “But in the past 18 months Auckland has become our single largest market. So I think in a way Auckland is saying, ‘Hey you need to be here’.” It’s a ‘cellar door’ rather than a bar – what’s the thinking behind that? To give people an immersive experience of everything Garage. We can stage events, relay directly what’s happening in the brewery and give a heightened experience – it…

Owner and baker Catherine Adams worked with George MacLeod-Whiting of Proffer on Starta Bread Kitchen & Shop to engage customers in the age-old art of making bread. “Our intention is to stimulate the senses on a number of levels,” says Adams, of the recently opened shop that produces the Wellington Sourdough range of breads. What did you set out to achieve? CATHERINE ADAMS Our main objective was functionality. The wood is sustainable American cedar – it has antibacterial properties and a great aroma, and works well with the tones of our bread. Proffer’s attention to detail and their ability to work with a number of materials, in particular, wood, was the catalyst for the timber feature wall. It contrasts well with the raw concrete of the existing building, giving an ethereal beauty…

Why Wellington and why now? DANAE MOSSMAN Wellington is a vibrant, cultural city and we wanted to be part of the conversation here. There’s a really interesting young-artist scene; a number of energetic new artist-run spaces that offer an alternative energy to the public institutions. Tell us about the space – what was there before? It was in pretty poor condition after a few decades housing light industry and manufacturing. The floor had broken linoleum tiles and a weird little office space. We removed everything and started from scratch; our extraordinary builder – David Kisler – elegantly worked his magic in the space. But the bones are good, it’s a late 1950s six-storey modernist building, with great windows. What was it like working with London-based New Zealand architect Jason Whiteley again? Jason has an attention…