This build by Johnstone Callaghan Architects and DRH Building demonstrates that new, thoughtful family homes can be created through careful collaboration.

WORDS Kathy Young PHOTOGRAPHY Sam Hartnett

In creating this unassuming Papanui residence, it was an opportunity to bring together three professionals: a real estate agent with a love of architecture; his partner, principal of an architecture firm; and a builder who’d worked alongside the homeowner several years ago, driving shuttle vans on the Colorado ski slopes.

Nick Cowdy, of Cowdy Real Estate, has owned this 642sqm section for 14 years. With that has come an intimate understanding of its quirks: where the sun fell, how the wind moved, what worked and what didn’t. When the EQC process opened the door to a rebuild, Nick approached it not as a property developer seeking maximum return, but as someone who wanted to prove that a beautiful family home could hold its own against multi-unit developments.

“He really wanted to build a beautiful family home to put back into the housing stock of Christchurch,” says Nick’s partner, Prue Johnstone, “and test these ways of living that he’s dreamt about.”

These dreams were of mid-century architecture, characterised by the honest post-war aesthetic where form follows function and materials are as organic and as natural as possible. Nick crafted a brief that distilled mid-century principles through a contemporary lens: open-plan living with a separate lounge, purposeful connections to the surrounding landscape and spaces that quietly delivered what they needed to.

“This was a chance to build something better than what was there before, and to be able to drive past
the property in years to come and know that we’ve made a positive difference to the housing stock of Christchurch,” says Nick.

Prue worked alongside Mike Callaghan at their practice, Johnstone Callaghan Architects. Their architectural response is three low-slung forms that create what Mike describes as a restful home with generous side yards that transform potential dead zones into meaningful spaces.

“Every habitable space has a generous outlook,” says Mike. “You’re not just looking at two fences on either boundary.” It’s an ingenious move that makes the 250sqm single-storey home feel considerably more expansive than its footprint suggests.

The entry is through a cedar-clad alcove that sets the tone for what follows. A spacious hallway draws you in, and the views stretch right through to the garden beyond. The four-bedroom, two-bathroom layout
ticks the conventional boxes, but it’s much more than a standard home. The separate living room features a skylight, flooding the space with light where windows would have offered only a view of the neighbour’s fence. Exposed American red oak members frame the opening, their honey tones complementing the battens that pattern the ceiling.

It’s here that the hand of builder Daniel Hubber from DRH Building becomes visible. He built the skylight on site, which was no small undertaking. Daniel gravitates towards these unique elements of building, using what he calls the “old-school” approach that if you want something done perfectly, do it yourself. “I think I was probably being a bit obsessive on getting this to look just right,” he says.

The years of friendship between Nick and Daniel proved invaluable. While Nick was heavily involved in the project, Daniel was able to work easily alongside the client, and they found much common ground in the choice of materials and aesthetics for the home. The relationships between builder, client and architect, and the intimate knowledge that comes from designing for someone you know deeply, creates something quite beautiful here.

“Dan is an extremely tidy and particular builder,” says Nick. “Nothing was ever a problem, and if there were problems, Dan had already front-footed them.”

The exterior two-toned brickwork creates a subtle rhythm without fuss. The brick layout features a soldier course arrangement around the windows and the base of the house, grounding the home onto the section. Cedar and macrocarpa feature throughout the home, and wide tray metal roofing keeps things honest and low-maintenance.

Inside, the commitment to real materials continues. American red oak architraves, skirtings and reveals create warmth throughout, offering a cost-effective choice that doesn’t read as a compromise. The kitchen splashback, for instance, brings texture and depth, a natural stone that steers away from the manufactured alternatives. “There are quite a lot of products out there now that look like this,” says Prue, “but we wanted the real thing.”

Overall, it’s a house that feels simultaneously contemporary and grounded in something older. The architecture and construction industries clearly agree, with the home winning a Gold award at the 2025 Master Builder House of the Year awards in the $1-1.5 million category for Canterbury, and a New Zealand Institute of Architects Local Award (Canterbury) in the residential category as well as being selected as a national finalist.

It’s builder Daniel’s second time achieving the builder distinction, having previously won with his own home in 2020. It’s validation of an approach that refuses shortcuts.

“It’s just a really good house,” says Mike, and there’s something refreshing in that straightforwardness. Prue, who with Nick has recently staged the house for sale with their two young children in tow, agrees. “It’s a really lovely and easy house to be in,” she says.

Strip away the awards and professional accolades, and what remains is a family home that works and where mid-century principles, with their honest materials and thoughtful spatial planning, still have something to say about how we want to live today.

As the NZIA jury noted: “These honest materials reflect the client’s love for the Christchurch style, combined in a modern home for today.”