Best foot forward, at the water’s edge
The View House stands at the entrance to Lake Hāwea, directly opposite the village’s historic hotel. It is a position that, in the architect’s words, demanded the building put its best foot forward. Designed by Mark Warren of MJW Architecture as a multi-generational holiday home for a Taihape farming family, the 326-square-metre house was shaped around a single directive: every room should capture the extraordinary views across the lake to the mountains beyond. Angled walls to the lounge and master suite open to those views while screening the busy road, and an internal courtyard with an openable louvre roof brings shelter and light to the heart of the plan. The brief also called for a genuinely low-maintenance home, a requirement the material palette, led by Nu Wall aluminium, answers directly. The house was named Rural Home of the Year 2023.
