Room With a View
A cave-like cabin near queenstown is the ultimate mountain retreat.
When it comes to escaping – really escaping – the mountain cabin is a potent architectural symbol of retreat and solitude. Surrounded by trees, keeping a high watch over the landscape, and made of raw, natural materials, the mountain cabin houses hardy, pioneering, contemplative sorts: monks, woodsmen, nature-lovers. Of course, this mountain retreat, hidden in the Central Otago hills, is, in reality, only half an hour’s drive from the bright lights, crowded bars and adventure sports of Queenstown. But through clever use of siting...
Occident / Orient
East meets West in this highly praised wooden container for living – the result of a shared vision, and the dream first project for a young architect starting out on his own.
A sophisticated wooden bunker reclines on the edge of a peaceful mangrove swamp in Auckland’s western suburbs. Designed for film producer Owen Hughes and actress Yuri Kinugawa, the house is delightfully simple, as architect Andrew Lister explains. “I love boxes with a passion. But I wouldn’t describe it as just a box – it’s more of a container for living in....
The Jeweller
Jessica McCormack happily admits she’s a thief. “When I was younger, I ‘accidentally acquired’ anything that was shiny or unusual. I have a collector’s possession obsession.” That fascination for shiny things quickly grew into a passion for combining those trinkets into intricately beautiful pieces of jewellery – chandelier earrings made from the inner workings of a watch, or eclectic charm bracelets. Originally selling from her home in Christchurch, McCormack was asked to supply pieces for Zambesi. On moving to London, she secured a job in the jewellery department of Sotheby’s. Now, she has just opened her...
The Glass Blower
Watching the movement of molten glass as it wavered into delicate, transparent, beautiful forms, Katie Brown knew she’d found her artistic medium. “The combination of talent, heat and technique was what inspired me,” she says. Graduating from New Zealand’s only glass-blowing school in Wanganui in 1999, Brown set off for the United States, where she worked for three years with renowned glass artist Josh Simpson. Next stop was England, where she worked with environmental glass artist Neil Wilkin. And just four years ago she returned to New Zealand to set up her studio with Lyndsey Patterson....