Situated on an elevated site in Te Horo, Kapiti Coast, this new home is located adjacent to an ecological wetland corridor protected by QEII covenant. SPACE were initially engaged to investigate the extensive alteration and renovation of an existing Lockwood home but after rigorous design and cost analysis the clients decided that the proposed alteration of the existing structure would prove to be too much of a compromise to their brief and decided to start anew. The existing house was sold and relocated for reuse. The building site was defined by the topographical constraints of steep battered banks surrounding it and key landscape elements such as existing terracing + decking as well as mature vegetation. Our clients also wished to retain a heritage cabbage tree located in the middle of the site. The design brief required the new home to be a high performance, energy efficient, accessible building integrated into the existing site and landscape, it should allow for connections to the established outdoor living areas and include the renovation of the existing sleep-out/garage building. The owners wanted a contemporary and elegant home, one that reflected a well-crafted and thoughtfully designed solution yet felt like it had been well established on the site and wasn’t a “new” building. They were very prescriptive when it came to the views they required from different spaces and how they wanted to live in the home.