Remuera: High tech luxury

Picture / Victor Chia

Electronic wizardry makes this Remuera mansion smart as well as stunning.

Impressive as it seems when you enter the gates of this grand Remuera property, it's not nearly as remarkable as the huge complexity of advanced technology hidden inside.

Developer Patrick Henshall professes a particular fascination with electronic detail. When he took on this project, a large piece of overgrown land next door to his own home, his aim was to create the ultimate living environment that took advantage of all the latest techniques. Having lived in many countries with wife Janette, he had accumulated a wealth of ideas he wanted to incorporate. The couple had been involved with other developments in the past, but this one was to supersede all that had gone before.

The property was so large they could have built four homes on it. "But we didn't want to do that," says Patrick. Instead of cramming a lot of smaller units onto the site, "it was more important to achieve a balance between the other homes and to maintain the privacy". So they built one very large, luxurious masonry home pitched at a wealthy corporate executive's family who could afford the best of everything.

The designer, Wayne Young from ArcArt, was selected because of his substantial experience with concrete construction. In an effort to ensure a smooth building process, Patrick hired a masonry home consultant and only employed experienced tradespeople to assure absolute quality and gain every guarantee and warranty possible.

Firth's Hotbloc system was used with zoned reticulated water heating below rib raft concrete flooring throughout the house. Smart wiring brings data cabling to every room from a central base, so you can run a computer from anywhere or watch a choice of channels on Sky in the different areas. Telephones are connected to an intercom system, which lets you pick up any phone to open the electronic gates at the entry. One-touch lighting pads set the scene with dimmers to create just the right mood both inside and out, which, of course, always looks spruce thanks to an automatic irrigation system.

All the spaces are large and airy; from the voluminous double-height entry and the several large living areas to the study and five bedrooms, all doubles. Even the garage is much bigger than normal and carpeted to reduce noise. With room for at least three cars, perhaps a boat and a workshop, the roof is braced so there's no pillar at the entry to get in the way.

The living areas have an easy flow to make entertaining enjoyable. A tall stud height makes the family living area with adjoining kitchen seem positively vast. The room eases through huge openings where double glazed glass doors draw back to merge the interiors with the landscaped gardens, by Paul Dijkman. On the sunny northern aspect, a pergola reaches out towards a sparkling black pool. At the touch of a button aluminium louvres on the pergola roof swivel to provide just the required amount of shade.

At the end of the living room, a feature wall of the same Hinuera stone used around the pool surrounds a gas Jetmaster fire. Next door, a home theatre is wired for a projector.

To give guests freedom to come and go as they please, a guest suite has access to the garden and is the only bedroom area downstairs. Overlooking the circular driveway, an office beside the entry is big enough to call a sixth bedroom, if required. There are four more bedrooms upstairs, with north-facing views over the Remuera valley. Three children's bedrooms feature built-in cupboards and drawers, doing away with the necessity for other furniture. These rooms share two family bathrooms and a lounge where kids can escape to read or watch TV. The master bedroom suite sits on its own on the north-west corner, opening to a huge, sunny balcony with views to Sky Tower.

Now the home's complete, Patrick looks back and says it's been wonderful to see something that started out as an idea on paper develop into all that he had hoped; the ultimate dream home that makes the most of its fabulous, secret, north-west-facing site.