The Local Project (February 3, 2023) – One of New Zealand’s best kept secrets, this modern farmhouse sits on a mountainous landscape surrounded by lakes and rivers, allowing the owners to insert themselves into the countryside.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Modern Farm House 00:36 – A Mountain Location 01:04 – An All Seasons Site 01:32 – The Layout of the Pavilions 01:58 – The Integration of Farm and Terrace 02:32 – A Unique Brief 03:07 – Designed for Multiple Styles of Occupation 03:47 – The Materials 04:43 – Balancing the Materials 05:13 – Combining Old and New 06:23 – The House from a Distance 06:47 – Getting Better with Age

Following the Australian and New Zealand idea of farmhouse layouts, Patterson Associates has designed Pouaka Waikura as a set of pavilions that faces the Shotover River. Built as small and simple pavilions, the house tour of the modern farmhouse begins from the stone driveway that leads up to the mechanical shed and into the porte cochère. Beyond this are the two main pavilions, the guest house and main house, which have been separated by a wide outdoor space that allows the owners to entertain and connect with the surrounds.

Employing natural materials for the modern farmhouse, Patterson Associates has used Corten steel panels on the exterior, which are left to rust naturally, while waxed black steel, naturally oiled timber and in situ concrete are used on the inside. The materials come together naturally with minimalist detailing. Moreover, the blending of the materials immerses the home into the site with colours of rust, browns, golds and greys, all while the in situ concrete anchors the home into the land.

Patterson Associates uses materials that will patina over time and offer a sense of growth and permanency. Further allowing the owners to connect with their surroundings, the modern farmhouse opens up through bi-folding doors and adds flexible living spaces throughout. Aside from architecture, Patterson Associates contributed interior design, and seamlessly blended personal items from the clients’ existing cottage home with newer colourful and eclectic pieces. In the kitchen the use of waxed black steel panels references the exterior Corten panelling, while Belgium bluestone is used for the benchtops and wall splashbacks, which reference the fingerprinting and natural patina of the black steel.

Additionally, the dark tones frame the large awning windows and offer a view straight down to Shotover River and invite a wealth of light inside the home. The architects have designed Pouaka Waikura with lighting design that helps to open the home up and allow for a greater appreciation of the southern alps and winding rivers. Furthermore, embracing indoor-outdoor living also ensures that the owners can feel a deeper connection to their settings from either inside the modern farmhouse, or by the courtyard and fire space that sits between the pavilions. Encompassing everything that its owners need and more, New Zealand’s best kept secret is a modern farmhouse that uses materials, colours, objects and landscape that will only get better as the years pass by.