Showcasing advanced construction techniques, this Wānaka home, designed by Reign Architecture and built by Bespoke Builds, is as impressive as it is innovative.

WORDS Kathy Young PHOTOGRAPHY Simon Larkin

Viblock uses aggregate sourced from Central Otago in its structural, brick and landscape masonry products. In this home the cladding around the entranceway is from Viblock, as are the bricks on interior feature walls.

This was never going to be a conventional home. With a 200-degree vista of mountains and a neighbouring deer farm, whatever was built on this Wānaka site would have to match the awe-inspiring scenery. Inspired by the views, the homeowners quickly decided to dream big.

“We were initially going to take a three-month holiday to the United States,” says the homeowner. “But Covid changed all that. Our trip got cancelled, and instead we bought this land.”

To shape the dream into something buildable, the couple sought out architectural designer Carl Murphy of Reign Architecture, recommended by a mutual acquaintance.

“From the outset,” says Carl, “it was clear the pair were looking for someone who could balance architectural ambition with technical execution.” What followed was a years-long collaboration between the homeowners, Reign Architecture and Bespoke Builds, also based in Wānaka.

Generous in every sense, the brief called for a spacious family home to grow into. The design prioritised views and all-day sun, meant to be celebrated from as many rooms as possible. A four-bay garage and workshop were also in the mix. And at the heart of everything was concrete. Right from the outset, the homeowner had strong ideas and no hesitation about pursuing that. “I love the texture, the look and the solid feeling of concrete,” he says. “I’d live in a concrete bunker if I could.”

Carl’s mission was to honour that conviction without losing the warmth of a family home. The design evolved from an early contemporary brief – flat roofs, wide windows – into something more architectural: three distinct pavilions, each topped with a gable roof, connected by flat-roofed links that tied the whole home together.

The pavilion forms allowed every main room to be ideally oriented. “The whole master plan was to take advantage of the views, the sun and to work with making things as energy efficient as possible.” Sets of 3D renders by Kanuka Studio were used to visualise many aspects of the design prior to construction. This tool was also useful when making decisions around tiles, textures and other interior aspects of the home.

Louvre Solutions took on the challenging task of installing pitched louvres on the gables of the living room and master bedroom. It’s a cohesive, contemporary look for solar control.

Forty-eight precast concrete tilt panels form the structure of the home, with every face exposed both inside and out. Fluted masonry runs from the exterior to the interior at crucial points, including the chimneys, and adds much-loved texture to the raw concrete. The angles also add interest and intrigue. The roof is built mainly from SIPs (structural insulated panels), which deliver high insulation values and minimal thermal bridging. Together these systems create what Carl describes as a “really robust thermal envelope” resulting in a building that performs well and looks good, too.

The use of timber keeps the home from tipping into something purely industrial. Cedar appears in the soffits, ceilings and joinery. “It softens the concrete hard look,” says Carl. “And because there’s so much steel, it’s quite a masculine house. The timber helps to soften that.”

The integration of these different systems – concrete, steel and timber – proved to be one of the biggest challenges of the build. “To end up with a finished product where all these elements work together and keep the structural elements visible without showing how they’re constructed, is a real achievement,” says Carl. Every interface required careful detailing and close collaboration between the homeowners, designer, builder, engineer and suppliers.

From a building perspective, there was a large amount of planning that went into the construction. All the services had to be resolved and located before the panels were even on site. Every electrical conduit, every light switch, every heating run had to be mapped in advance, since the tilt slabs are exposed on both faces, inside and out, leaving no room for afterthought. There was no hiding anything behind linings later on. It’s a discipline that paid off, with the home using minimal energy and maintaining a pleasant temperature throughout Wa¯naka’s wide seasonal swings.

The tilt slabs were manufactured in Christchurch and transported to Wa¯naka a week after fabrication was completed. When the trucks started delivering panels to site, there was no room for error. “Each panel truck turned up in sequence and the Bespoke Builds team did an amazing job of piecing together each panel as it arrived on site,” says the homeowner.

Once the panels were stood upright, the build progressed remarkably smoothly. The 580sqm home took about two years to build, with the homeowners moving in Easter 2025. The home’s performance has been a source of great satisfaction for them. The air-to-water heat pump powering the underfloor heating keeps the house comfortable, and the home is prepped for solar when the time comes. The concrete’s inherent airtightness means the building envelope does much of the heavy lifting.

The homeowners’ favourite design feature is the kitchen island.

“We enjoyed playing with the same angles that are used in the exterior concrete panels,” says the homeowner. “Along with referencing the mountainous surroundings, we carried that language into the interior. The result is a highly functional kitchen island that has truly become the centre of the home, and a real talking point for visitors.”

The homeowners are delighted with the finished house. The Bespoke Builds team, whose background is in high-end residential construction, say they are delighted to see the homeowners happy in their new home. Carl visited the family recently and asked if there could have been any improvements or adjustments. “They don’t want to change anything,” says Carl. In a home this deliberate, that might be the most striking result of all.