Girvan

Set up on the banks of the Avon River in Christchurch, Girvan home provides beautiful expansive views across the river to the Historic Riccarton House in Riccarton Bush. A new two-level family home designed to replace an earthquake damaged house and make the most of the established landscape it sits within.

The site was split between the beautiful views on the southern side with sloping banks down to the Avon River and the northern aspect which the client would utilize for the more private outdoor living. This resulted in the home being specifically located with an east-west orientated living wing with transparency, to allow the house to sit as a pass between either side of the stunning section and also allow views throughout.

One of the challenges was linking the entrance of the house, which is at the front of the site with a very narrow street frontage, to the living of the house which had to be sited at the rear of the section and widens substantially. The entrance / hall was oversized and at the midpoint a double height stair void with large amounts of wall and roof windows ensures a light filled inviting space and draws the inhabitants down to the living wing.

We used a material pallet of dark stained timber and a lighter polished concrete plaster texture. The weight of claddings was a significant factor as the loadbearing capabilities of the site were poor and as such concrete was not an option. The concrete plaster form clads the first floor and wraps itself over the timber cladding living wing before dropping down to the ground and terminating at the lounge. The material use is complimented by the beautiful natural setting it resides in.