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Location:

Christchurch, New Zealand

Awards:

(Received as Director of MAP)

NZIA Resene New Zealand Award

The Close House is an assemblage of pavilions that mediate between the interior spaces of the buildings and the surrounding built fabric.

The five pavilions, which use the same palette of materials, i.e. precast concrete panels; aluminium and black stained cedar are held apart by fully glazed circulation zones. A strategy of circulation and activity zones allows the occupants of the house of two adults and three children to enjoy a communal and private relationship. The main entrance is held between two double forms, one of aluminium and the other precast concrete. The precast concrete form contains the formal living spaces at ground level, with five bedrooms above. The aluminium form, separated by a large atrium, contains the second service kitchen on the ground and the ensuite bathrooms at the first floor. These are accessed by the bedrooms via glass enclosed bridges. The garage, clad in sand blasted acrylic overlaid with black cedar battens, completes the streetscape façade. All these forms generate a nocturnal architecture in the form of glowing lanterns.

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