The house comprises a varied palette of materials chosen for their texture, longevity and appropriateness for the environment.
Maunga Ora occupies a 3.6-hectare site at the end of Mountain View Road in Dalefield, positioned between Queenstown and Arrowtown. With only distant neighbours, the softly undulating land which slopes from north to south offers a rare sense of privacy and seclusion.
Each outlook from the home captures a unique character of the surrounding landscape: the valley view stretches dramatically towards the Remarkables, framed by rolling landforms and Peninsular Hill; Coronet Peak and Mt Dewar define the horizon to the North with Bowen Peak and Ben Lomond to the West. At a more intimate scale, a regenerated alpine watercourse meanders from the rear of the site.
Mason & Wales were commissioned, following a competitive proposal, to design a home for an Australian-based family of four. Having spent years holidaying in the region, the family sought to establish a permanent base in Queenstown.
Their brief was centred on creating a home that reflected the lifestyle of the area while accommodating the demands of everyday living. They wanted a distinctive aesthetic with resilient materials, balancing enclosure with openness, light with shadow.
Most importantly, the design needed to embrace the site’s natural qualities, capturing the striking contrast between mountain views and orientation.
The house is crafted from a considered palette of materials, selected for their texture, durability, and harmony with the environment.
These include blackened steel, vertical cedar, precast concrete, and plaster cladding along with extensive areas of high-performance glazing. Exterior materials were chosen for their low-maintenance qualities, whilst cedar cladding was selected to offer softness and tactility at the human scale. The main roof structure was designed to enable generous levels of insulation and complete integration of building services.
Careful and intentional coordination with the design team, allows climate control, audiovisual systems, and window treatments to be seamlessly hidden, ensuring both thermal and visual comfort as well as clean architectural expression.
The dwelling is organised into three distinct parts. The main volume, running across the contours of the site contain the master suite and primary living areas. Beneath it, a sunken lower level accommodates garaging, cellar, office, and utility spaces. To the north, a triangular bedroom wing is carefully aligned to capture and preserve views towards Coronet Peak.
An elegant, wing-like roof defines the architectural character, sheltering the central living spaces. Its floating quality is emphasised by tapered eaves, fine detailing, and full-height glazing, all set in contrast to the solid, monolithic form of the concrete bedroom wing. Together, these elements balance lightness with strength in the overall composition.
ARCHITECTS — MASON&WALES masonandwales.com
PHOTOGRAPHY — SIMON LARKIN larkindesign.co.nz
