Location: Arrowtown, New Zealand.

Architect: RTA Studio.

The Arrowtown House is a private residence located in the Wakatipu basin, surrounded by the Southern Alps. The house is designed as a series of pavilions that blend into the landscape, following the contours of the land. The clients, who are artists, wanted a house that was both natural and sculptural. The pavilions are strategically oriented towards the surrounding mountain ranges and views, and are organized around an entry forecourt and sculpture court. The children’s/guest pavilion is separated from the rest of the building and set below the courtyard level. The house is entered through a faceted vestibule that leads to the living pavilion. Beyond the vestibule is the ‘glass house,’ a secondary living space that has an indoor/outdoor quality and connects the stone schist clad lounge pavilion to the weathering steel main bedroom pavilion. The garage and living pavilion are clad in local schist, while the two-bedroom pavilions are clad in weathering steel, referencing the rusted steel sheds and gold mining remnants seen in Central Otago. The Arrowtown House seeks to be a contextual response to both the changing human occupation of the land over the centuries and the natural landscape. The house rises from the landscape like the rock forms or rusted goldmining remnants in the surrounding area. The clients wanted a house that was both ‘of the land’ and had a natural sculptural beauty. The pavilions are set into the ground at various levels and angles, following the contours of the land rather than modifying them. The house is designed to blend into the landscape and be a part of it.

Photo credit: Patrick Reynolds.