Arriving at the end of a long driveway in St Andrews, Hamilton, the journey has only just begun. An architecturally designed home sits coolly, waiting to be admired.

The perfect lines of the black stained cedar garages merge seamlessly with the rest of the exterior, juxtaposed, to striking effect, against a white brick-clad wall. A bold pivoting door swings back to reveal an extension of the white wall coursing through the hallway to the gallery. Before you slide back the signature barn door and set foot inside “the loft”, it might pay to inhale deeply – the light-filled open-plan living space, with 5m-high glass walls, is breathtaking. Enviable views look over a golfing green to the Waikato River. Each space in this four-bedroom, three-bathroom home enjoys its share of the sweeping vista. In the kitchen, stainless steel countertops add an unexpected industrial elegance. Indoor-outdoor flow through moving walls provides a warm welcome and sense of informality not often associated with state-of-the art living.