Special doesn’t come close to describing this house jutting into the Wairarapa wilderness. It’s also an understatement to say the building site on the fringe of the Tararua Range was challenging. This astonishing and luxurious metal-clad home is 10km from a tarsealed road, power source and sewerage. The 109sqm two-bedroom, wedgeshaped retreat is known as ‘the tree house’ due to the branched supports beneath the cantilevered front deck. It is also the culmination of the owner’s vision for a unique off-the-grid home sympathetic to its surroundings and one that enjoys stellar views. Interior highlights include open-tread rimu stairs and a halo pendant crafted by the owner.
For Tunnicliffe Builders, the project represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to craft such a home. The young team was faced with tricky access – the site could only be reached by 4WD, and even then only when weather forecasts and stream and ford levels allowed. Bags of ready-mix concrete for the likes of piles and columns had to be flown in by helicopter from the end of the road. To the self-sufficiency required for such a home: solar panels and a battery shed power the house, hydraulic ram pumps deliver stream water and the septic siphon system requires no extra power input. That’s not say the remote off-the-grid property is without tech. The owner can control temperature unlock the door and monitor his house – remotely.
NATIONAL AWARDS WON
Top 100
REGIONAL AWARDS WON
Regional Category Winner
Regional APL Environmental & Sustainable Excellence
Regional PDL by Schneider Electric Smart Home Award
Regional Gold