Mahia house wins NZ award

HOUSE ON THE HILL: “Pretty awesome” is how Bain Construction Limited owner-director Sam Bain (left) describes the firm’s category win at the national Master Builders House of the Year Awards, for a house built high on a Mahia hill. Clad in bandsawn cedar and fitted with large windows, the house offers grand views of Mahia and Mokotahi Hill. Pictures supplied

A house built high on a Mahia hill has landed a Gisborne building company a category win in the national Master Builders House of the Year Awards.

The category stipulates the house must be a new house valued at between $550,000 and $700,000.

The win for building the home that judges deemed well-designed to capture the site’s 180-degree views was “pretty awesome for us here in Gisborne”, says owner-director Sam Bain of Landmark Homes Gisborne company Bain Construction Limited.

The house’s outlook from the hill was complemented by good indoor/outdoor flow to exterior living areas, said the judges.

When builders work on something special they get pretty passionate about it, says Mr Bain.

The house is clad in vertical, band-sawn cedar to give the home a rustic finish. Indonesian hardwood makes up the deck.

A highlight of the build was installation of big cantilevered doors that open on a 90-degree angle to provide seamless views.

Mr Bain’s team and the architect came up with the feature in a discussion with the architect during the concept stage of the design.

“That was a huge challenge but it was a special detail,” says Mr Bain.

Mr Bain and his builders saw an opportunity to provide better views of Mokotahi Hill, which the owner loved, so after a discussion with the architect they enlarged one window.

They also fitted the house with aluminium cavity sliding joinery so doors disappear into the walls.

“You can’t even see the doors,” says Mr Bain.

The Mahia home represented the region in the national competition as the winner of this year’s supreme award for East Coast, Manawatu and Whanganui.

A new build in Christchurch and a renovation in Wellington won the supreme awards at the national awards.

Mr Bain thanks his staff, contractors and suppliers for their contribution to the build, as well as the client who allowed his company to enter the competition.