Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Australian-born, Singapore-based entrepreneur Matt Chapman considered many countries when looking for a place to buy an isolated retreat. \u201cI wanted to find the most magical place possible,\u201d he says. That place was Parihoa, whose minimal outline and slick, dark-stained timber facade is a dramatic contrast to the rolling hills and rugged clifftops of the landscape where it resides.It is one of several sleek modern architectural projects designed in conversation with the striking geography of their New Zealand locations: often low-lying, playing on the need for isolation, and constructed in materials that stand apart from, but take on the profile of, their surroundings. The simplest of cribs and baches \u2014 the Kiwi terms for holiday homes \u2014 have also inspired New Zealand architects to engage with the wild in their designs in interesting ways.Parihoa was built for a farming family, taking inspiration from traditional M\u0101ori attitudes towards nature, says Andrew Patterson of architecture studio Pattersons, which was behind the project. \u201cIn New Zealand, the ethos of the country is: we are the children of the sky father and the earth mother [Ranginui and Papat\u016b\u0101nuku]. And that comes with a certain responsibility.\u201dForty-five minutes from the country\u2019s largest city, Auckland, it is perched on the western coast\u2019s clifftops, looking out to the Tasman Sea. \u201cWith the weather rolling off the ocean, you can see a storm coming before it hits you,\u201d says Patterson. High winds and horizontal rain mean \u201cvisibility will go down to nothing\u201d. But, adds Chapman, \u201cit gets these heavenly sunsets [\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009] It\u2019s like an alien fortress.\u201dSimilar to the earth ramparts of an old p\u0101 (or fort) in view of the house, Parihoa lies low along the line of the hill and is configured with a central courtyard. The living areas stretch along the glass walls at the front of the house; walls that can be rolled back when weather permits. The four bedrooms join the courtyard at a range of angles to ensure a window or door can be opened regardless of the direction of the wind and sun (the country has particularly high ultraviolet light levels).New Zealand is \u201cnot bogged down in an idea of architecture from a different time; it\u2019s a country of people that are essentially looking forward\u201d, says architect Lance Herbst.\u00a0Yet nods to tradition remain a keystone. On Great Barrier Island, the outermost island on the Hauraki Gulf, Awana Beach House was completed by Herbst Architects in 2020 for an Auckland family. Like many of Herbst\u2019s designs \u2014 such as the award-winning Dune House on North Island\u2019s east coast, whose undulating curves mimic the sand dunes nearby \u2014 the building is wrapped in sliding screens that reference the country\u2019s vernacular timber-framed buildings. The screens are made out of untreated cedar, which is constantly battered by sea-spray, creating a silvered effect. \u201cWhat we\u2019re always trying to do with these beach houses, essentially, is blur the line between the building and the landscape,\u201d says Herbst.\u00a0Unobtrusive design was also Chapman\u2019s aim when he started a new project in 2018 \u2014 a 24-hectare site on Roys Peninsula, which leads into Lake W\u0101naka in the South Island. He also wanted to emulate Parihoa\u2019s connection to its surroundings. Here, the mountains channel strong winds, snow and cloud (Aotearoa, the country\u2019s M\u0101ori name, translates to \u201cLand of the Long White Cloud\u201d). He commissioned Fearon Hay Architects to create Synchronicity, which was completed in 2023. Nestled in the hills, it\u2019s made with a mix of concrete, glass, corrugated iron and aluminium screening. Red cedar adds warmth inside, while the red cedar cladding outside is slowly taking on the dusty grey tones of the region\u2019s schist rock.\u201cYou don\u2019t see that building from afar. We have not changed the hierarchy of how powerful that peninsula is,\u201d says architect Tim Hay. \u201cIt feels like it hasn\u2019t disrupted that equilibrium.\u201dTwo main bedrooms are at either end of the long single-storey structure, between a series of living areas that can be reconfigured depending on how many are staying. \u201cI\u00a0like isolation for creativity and being able to really drop in, because a lot of my work has been virtual,\u201d says Chapman. \u201cBut, by the same token, you need to get people to come out [to visit]. You need to become a good entertainer.\u201dTwo bunkrooms (and a ski drying room and other amenities) are separate from this central building \u2014 forcing occupants outside, much like at the shepherding and hiking huts in the high country. \u201cThat adventurous outdoor lifestyle can get lost by providing creature comforts,\u201d says architect Jeff Fearon, also of Fearon Hay Architects. \u201cHaving a client who was willing to explore those sorts of solutions was exciting.\u201d Biodiversity requirements for planning approval at Synchronicity meant 25,000 native plants were added to the site. Chapman embraced the challenge. \u201cYou have a responsibility when it comes to the health of the land and the relationships with other people who connect with it,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve found it very humbling.\u201dChapman, who has become a New Zealand citizen, is selling Synchronicity and Parihoa as he slims his portfolio and builds a primary residence nearby in W\u0101naka. Designed again by Fearon Hay, it will be a partly subterranean house called Telepathy.Duncan Ross, chief operating officer of Bayleys Realty which, alongside partners McGrath Estate Agents and Knight Frank, is listing both properties, says the houses are attracting international buyers as well as domestic interest. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more activity from offshore parties. While it\u2019s still very difficult to get access, there\u2019s certainly that desire to have a bolt-hole.\u201cThey\u2019re stylised to fit within the landscape but equally to stand out,\u201d says Ross, and they create a \u201cfeeling of safety and security inside this rugged environment. When you see them, you really understand it.\u201dMost foreigners must go through the Overseas Investment Act to purchase property; W\u0101naka and neighbouring Queenstown, in the South Island, are growth regions for international ownership. In the North Island are new developments at Te Arai and Tara Iti, golf resorts by the sea.Pattersons recently completed Lenticular House, situated among the dunes of Te Arai, for a young Australian couple. Looking out to the Little Barrier Island reserve, with a lenticular cloud almost always hovering over it, the aim was to create a home without visual clutter so focus would be on the view.The house has two symmetrical wings and, like Synchronicity, has matching bedrooms (and offices) at either end and a living area in between.\u00a0It is designed so different sides can be opened, whatever the weather. The front floor-to-ceiling wall of glass slides open almost silently at the press of a button. \u201cThis house anticipates an age where people aren\u2019t tied to an office,\u201d Patterson says. It is clad in solid zinc, which doesn\u2019t rust in a coastal environment but forms a silvery patina that resembles the pine forest behind it.\u00a0Thomas Seear-Budd of architecture studio Seear-Budd Ross considers the country\u2019s nature-adjacent projects to be putting \u201cNew Zealand architecture and New Zealand modernism on the map\u201d.\u00a0Seear-Budd Ross is completing Central Otago House, which has sliding floor-to-ceiling windows, a protected courtyard and a tonal exterior (this time with cast in-situ concrete), and is surrounded by nature. The five-bedroom home, with a piano room and an area for tea ceremonies, is for a family based in the US and Taiwan. \u201cWe\u2019re enthusiastic about pushing New Zealand architecture forward, and that, even though it\u2019s contextual, has an international element,\u201d says co-founder James Ross.Between them, these architecture studios are embarking on projects in other remote areas \u2014 taking the \u201cNew Zealand modern\u201d aesthetic to Australia, Asia, the Middle East, the US, the UK and near the Arctic Circle.\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s an overriding desire, if you\u2019re out in nature, to be as one or respectful or in harmony,\u201d says Patterson. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to design in a particular style, referencing what\u2019s gone before. You can go straight to the source, which is the environment.\u201dFind out about our latest stories first \u2014 follow @ft_houseandhome on Instagram<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Australian-born, Singapore-based entrepreneur Matt Chapman considered many countries when looking for a place to buy an isolated retreat. \u201cI wanted to find the most magical place possible,\u201d he says. That place was Parihoa, whose minimal outline and slick, dark-stained timber facade is a dramatic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":238781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-238780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238782,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238780\/revisions\/238782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}