House vs. Home: What does home mean to New Zealand?

New Zealand’s residential developments are growing at extraordinary rates. With such high demand, focus is placed on time and money rather than quality or liveability. Connections between people and place are weakening and architectural styles are becoming more globalised. This means that architecture is becoming less climate and site-specific, the use of local materials is no longer a design objective, there is lack of variation or individuality in design and architecture is no longer facilitating community connections. This proposal aims to explore how New Zealand’s residential architecture can give people a greater sense of place by providing connections to both the natural landscape and its unique communities. This thesis will propose a design that responds to the current issues residential architecture is facing and provides an example of a unique New Zealand architecture. Methods include precedent analysis, literature reviews, and iterative design. The design outcome of this thesis will be a medium density residential development which aims to successfully connects people and place through exploration of the natural environment, local materials, and community.