Luxury Bay home wins major award

Fold House, in the Bay of Islands, won a major architectural award last night.

A luxury home in the Bay of Islands that is "generous, calm, and superbly detailed" has earned a major accolade in the New Zealand Architecture Awards.

Fold House at Waipiro Bay in the Bay of Islands was a winner in the housing category at the awards held in Wellington last night.

Twenty-eight buildings and structures won honours in the leading architectural awards programme, which recognises the best work across all the types of projects designed by New Zealand's architects.

The awards jury, led by Christchurch architect Jasper van der Lingen and comprising Auckland architects Megan Edwards and Michael O'Sullivan, and Melbourne-based architect Andrew Maynard, visited 50 shortlisted buildings from the Bay of Islands to Central Otago.

Six new standalone houses received New Zealand Architecture Awards. The most northerly of these houses is the Fold House at Waipiro Bay in the Bay of Islands, designed by Bossley Architects.

Nestled into its beautiful maritime site the house is, the jury said, "generous, calm, and superbly detailed, and offers a lovely, relaxed progression of spaces".

The citation said eschewing obvious responses to the opportunities presented by a beautiful maritime site, the architect instead deferred to the contours of the topography and shape of the bay in designing a house that nestles low against the arms of a small valley.

"The house's family and guest wings frame a wide grass 'courtyard'; this has the effect of drawing the bay into the composition. Generous, calm, and superbly detailed, the house offers a lovely, relaxed progression of spaces. It can accommodate busy holiday activity, but is just as encouraging of contemplative occupation. This is a house that is comfortable in its place," the jury said.