Lake Hayes Home | Ben Hudson Architects

We want our designs to be to be lived in, not just a show home – these are our favourite projects – where the owners have been an integral part of the dialogue right through the design, and are clearly going to love their new home. In these projects spaces for muddy boots are equally important as the entertaining spaces.

Context is key, and our buildings are always influenced by their surroundings. We chose low-slung forms and a palette of natural, earthy-coloured materials that will age gracefully and embed the building sympathetically within its site, allowing the landscape to remain the hero.

Ben Hudson

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The Lake Hayes House by Ben Hudson Architects is a contemporary home arranged over two levels interlocking with the rocky, sloping terrain above the shore of Lake Hayes, Queenstown, New Zealand.

The street elevation is designed to read as a simple low-lying solid form, with cues taken from the traditions of stone-walled hidden gardens. The stone, mortared in the traditional vernacular style of the region, anchors the building to its site and provides privacy and protection for the owners. Upon entering the home, there is a contrasting sense of transparency and lightness as the spaces open to the lake and the mountain views beyond. Generous glazing accentuates the sensation of floating above the landscape.

Glazed clerestory-style windows peak over the stone wall, drawing in natural light and allowing views to the surrounding hills and the treetops which form a backdrop to the dwelling.

From the street the home presents itself as a single-story building. The main living areas and master bedroom are located on this level, which connects to an outdoor terrace and wood fire overlooking the lake. Children’s bedrooms, study and family areas are located on the lower level, where rooms spill out onto an informal timber deck. Textures of board finish concrete occur here, anchoring the building to its site.

The outdoor fire and terrace connect to a small east-facing sun court where the owners can enjoy a morning coffee. Stone steps lead to a landscaped kitchen garden and courtyard concealed behind the stone wall.

Kitchen, dining and living spaces are contained within the open-plan design, inter-connected by bespoke timber joinery.

A simple pitched metal and glass-clad structure sits atop the stone wall, merging traditional and contemporary building materials. Whilst internally the spaces appear to hover over the lake, from the outside the home is clearly connected to the wider landscape.

Architecture Firm: Ben Hudson Architects

Lead Architects: Ben Hudson & John Mathieson

Photography
John Williams Photography
https://www.jwphotography.co.nz/ 
https://www.instagram.com/johnwilliamsphotography/

Building Contractor = The Builders, Queenstown https://www.thebuilders.co.nz/

Interior Design = Ben Hudson Architects

Structural engineer = Eliot Sinclair, Queenstown