Architects and parents-of-preschoolers Andrea Bell and Andrew Kissell would move their two-year-old Grey Lynn home to Dunedin if they could.
The couple are originally Mainlanders - Andrea from Dunedin and Andrew from Invercargill - who are shifting to live in the south again with their children, Oscar, 4, and Lulu, nearly 2.
The family's relocation gives someone a rare opportunity to own an award-winning architecturally designed house.
This property at 4 Maidstone St was a finalist in Home New Zealand magazine's 2016 Home of the Year award, winning the Best City Home category.
Built with concrete tilt-slab walls, polished concrete floors, exposed services such as pipework and a range of other industrial materials, the house is a surprise. From the street, it doesn't give much away, but step inside and it's a warm, generous family residence that is private and secure.
Andrea and Andrew had been looking for some time for an industrial building they could convert into their own place. But in the end, they were able to build new after Andrew spotted a section for sale that had been the site of a burned-down cottage. He bought it quickly, before Andrea had even seen it.
"We were excited as it was a great opportunity to create something interesting," Andrea says.
The finished result is a home in an edgy, light commercial location, albeit with nods to standard family homes in the suburbs. Visitors are surprised to see a back lawn, vegetable garden and deck with a barbecue.
Andrew's workshop is in the basement of the three-level home. Its concrete-block walls and sliding doors opening on to the lawn give it a rumpus-room practicality.
Image 1 of 10: This award-winning home provides a warm family residence. Photo / Ted Baghurst
But it's the unconventional elements that make this house so special. The scale of the spaces is very generous. Step inside the glass front door and the stud height is 4m. This soars to 4.5m as you step down into the main living area, which opens on to the deck. The impressive stairwell doubles as a light well.
The roof is glazed, with walls clad with Modulit, a translucent double-skin polycarbonate that admits light but allows privacy. Coincidentally, the same product is used in the Forsyth Barr stadium in Dunedin. The stairs themselves are designed to allow as much light in as possible, with punctured steel treads and a stainless steel mesh balustrade.
The upper-most level contains the spacious and sunny master suite, which enjoys views of the water and the Waitakeres. There's a large second living area alongside Andrea's office and library.
The children's bedrooms share an en suite and open on to a terrace, which is in keeping with a block of 19th century terrace homes across the road.
Andrea and Andrew collaborated on the design process and both approached it from slightly different angles.
Andrew says: "Andrea works with high-end residential and I have a commercial focus, which looks to the future with reuse and flexibility. I have a strong interest in urban design, so it was important to create something that could be easily changed."
What's currently a house could easily be repurposed as an office. The location is close to the new Vinegar Lane development and design store Design Denmark, so 4 Maidstone St could also work well as retail, with an apartment above.
"It was important to us that it had a life beyond us," Andrea says.
In Dunedin, this architect couple and their children will be closer to family. There are new work opportunities, too. Andrew has a position with established Dunedin firm Mason & Wales and Andrea will continue working on high-end residential projects with her own practice.
