Overend House

The client's brief was for me to produce a small yet spacious chic town house on a 308 sq. m. ‘in-fill’ section in the high-density flat land immediately north of Nelson city called ‘The Wood’. Two bedrooms and an integrated home office in an open plan Living area were requested and an exterior with styling influenced by traditional Japanese architecture, - a favourite of both the client and myself.

The Overend house was also entered in the ADNZ/Resene Regional Design Awards 2008.
See the entry here (1MB PDF)

While not a full Passive Solar design, this home is never the less a very comfortable and healthy energy efficient ‘solar tempered’ house with plenty of solar gain from a north-facing aspect coupled with high levels of insulation, - locally made Latitude ‘Woolbloc’. The cladding is fixed over a 10mm layer of XPS polystyrene as a thermal break.

Exterior cladding is two-toned stained textured plywood with carefully arranged cover battens reminiscent of panelling on traditional Japanese houses. A gabled hip roof and exposed gutter brackets help with the effect while the front entry completes the picture with an entry ‘stone’ and internal ornament niche. Bamboo flooring is featured in the kitchen and raised Study floor. This internal Study provides the owner with a workspace that while separately contained, enjoys all the warmth and comfort of the main living area.

Total floor area for this house is just 128 sq.m including the single garage, yet it’s light and airy interior exudes a sense of space and grace. At a total cost of just $200,000 for the building, this project was deemed a complete success.