Wanaka Dwellings
The Warren Street Townhouses project comprises five individual units on a site nestled within the expansive landscape of New Zealand’s Otago region. The project presents a unique residential offering for the Wanaka environment; a curated collection of clean, minimal and functional homes designed to celebrate the serene natural beauty of the southern landscape.
Unusual for a townhouse development is the individual architectural expression of each of these homes - spatial arrangements and interior sequencing vary from one to another. Three units follow a traditional floor plan over two storeys with open living spaces on the lower floor and bedroom spaces on the upper. Two more units take advantage of an elevated position to accommodate the living occupation and primary bedroom on the first floor, maximising views to the surrounding mountains. The strong architectural resolution set the benchmark for an equally robust interior design strategy, the concept for which was a consistent and considered interior material palette applied as a means to unify the individual townhouses as part of a single collective.
The restrained palette is composed of natural materials; timber, limestone and wool anchor the interior strategy and introduce warmth into the architecture. The application of plate stainless steel for primary kitchen surfaces acknowledges a need for durability without compromising the design intent as a minimal interpretation of the tones of the local context.
Custom steel shelving is sparingly used to introduce texture and craft within the joinery and the use of stone slabs to timber hearths reflects a strategy of considered composition. Although the application of each material varies from unit to unit - some feature limestone floors while others leverage the versatility of oak - a consistent interior design language defines these homes as a luxury townhouse model uncommon for Wanaka and yet an appropriate reflection of the rich and varied landscape.
