Railway-themed house on track for award

A Masterton house designed using the "stretched metaphor" of a railway signal box is one of five homes in the running to win New Zealand's richest architecture award.
Recent Wairarapa arrival Stephanie Chilcott said she gave Wellington architecture firm Melling:Morse an open design brief and, inspired by the concrete block dwelling's close proximity to Masterton Railway Station, they came up with the railway theme.
Home New Zealand magazine has been running the Home of the Year competition for 13 years and although entrants from Wairarapa have featured before, 2008 is the first time an entry from Masterton has made the cut.
Ms Chilcott, an education consultant and former fashion designer, bought the triangular Masterton section in 2006 after slips at her home on the western hills of Wellington resulted in more than a few bouts of insomnia.
She said construction of her new 145sqm home, dubbed the Signal Box, was a real team effort employing the talents and expertise of locally-based builders and artisans.
Joiner Howard Stevens, of Masterton firm Fleet Wood Worx, used his "invaluable" local knowledge to gather the right tradesmen for the job, she said.
The office, bedroom, laundry and bathroom sit in the slanting, rectangular 'signal arm' section of the upper floor, which is perched atop the first-floor common areas. Mr Stevens said the angles represented a unique but welcome challenge.
"It made you think it's good to do stuff that's a bit different, it keeps the brain working," he said.
Ms Chilcott describes the whole project as a "stretched metaphor" borrowing heavily from the aesthetics of locomotive transport and train travel the home's office sits at the bottom slope of the 'signal arm' and features two opposing windows, the lower halves of which are blocked out with stop/go green and red.
The lobby features a set of 'tracks' etched into the bottom level's polished concrete floor leading to concrete bulkheads outside representing 'platforms' A and B.
Ms Chilcott said there will eventually be an iron horse statue gracing the platforms.
The house cost around $350,000 to construct.
She said the architects deliberately left building materials in their 'natural' state bare and unpainted to achieve the home's desired minimalist aesthetic.
Ms Chilcott said she chose to build in Masterton because of its affordability and accessibility by rail and car to Wellington and "because it's got a Moore Wilson's for all us food snobs".
The Signal Box is competing against four other homes, one on Great Barrier Island and the other three in metropolitan Auckland.
The winner is to be announced tonight at an awards ceremony in a Herne Bay house that previously won the award.