Showhomes > A stunning architectural home, Christchurch

A stunning architectural home, Christchurch

‘Ultimate Homes' is the brainchild of award-winning Christchurch architectural designer, Phillip Bidwell and builder, Martin Smith. And this home is the product of their belief that great architectural design can be price-competitive.

Phillip Bidwell explains the philosophy behind this stunning home which is clad in James Hardie Monotek® Sheet and Linea® Weatherboard.

“The great advantage of a company that designs and builds homes to pre-existing plans is that it should be able to offer greater price certainty to clients. In the past, ‘standard plans' have been synonymous with ‘boring designs'. But there's no reason why it has to be like that."

"This home is proof that the design and build process can create homes with real architectural flair that also perform on price.”

“We believe that a new home should be designed to enhance the quality of life of the people who live in it. Aesthetically we wanted to create a sense of light and space, with a sense of flow between the rooms and out to the outdoor spaces, but equally this home has been designed with the practical needs of the family in mind.

With four bedrooms, two generous living spaces and beautifully landscaped outdoor spaces, we've provided spaces that bring the family together, but also allow a degree of separation when necessary. Plenty of good storage is also important to avoid clutter and maintain the sense of space.”

That sense of space and lightness is apparent as you step through the front door into the entrance area - a skylight set into the high ceiling fills the area with light and a large pivot door leads through into the lounge area.

The lounge, in turn flows through a cavity slider to the family room and dining area, and through sliding doors to the outdoor areas. The interior spaces are designed to be opened up to create large airy pavilion-like spaces, or to shut down into a series of separate cosier, more intimate spaces.

Just as much thought has gone into the exterior spaces.

“The house is essentially rectangular, so we wanted to create visual steps that would break up the rectangular confines and define separate, but linked outdoor spaces,” says Philip.

Phillip and Martin have made great use of James Hardie Linea Weatherboard to create exterior dividing walls that extend out a short distance perpendicular to the house.

“We liked the way the lines of the Linea have created an almost sculptural effect on these walls. We've used the same dark charcoal colour on the wall boards and the HardieGroove lined soffits, and the ceder shading blades, so there is a strong linear flow, which is also picked up by the lighter lines of the aluminium joinery.”

The effect is a slightly Asian aesthetic, which works well with the very sculptural landscape design to create a sense of minimalist tranquillity – call it ‘zen' perhaps – though this is also a home very much grounded in the Canterbury landscape.

“We wanted to use materials that referenced the landscape”, says Phillip. Monotek was chosen as the primary cladding material for its sense of solidness and the great weatherproofing that it provides. It works well not only with the Linea, but also with the riverstone that we've used in the water feature and the other landscaping materials.”