Eco-house on the hill wins Home of the Year

The Days Bay house features double glazing, solar heating and rainwater tanks.

An eco-friendly Wellington house set on a densely forested hillside won a national architectural award last week, beating competitors in the Coromandel and Auckland.

The Days Bay house features double-glazed windows to improve heat retention, recycled demolition timber for floorboards and joinery, solar heating panels for hot water and rainwater tanks.

The design won architect Hugh Tennent Home + Entertaining magazine's Home of the Year prize. The 432sq m six-bedroom house was built in three linked sections, dividing living from bedroom and study areas.

The living pavilion looks across the harbour and is topped by a twisted roof plane that opens the area to the bush on the hill behind. The house also features a tower with a study.

A Coromandel house by Auckland architects David Mitchell and Julie Stout and a Grey Lynn house by Malcolm Walker were also finalists.