The House and the Hill

The words ‘an unimaginable remoteness’ capture New Zealand’s landscape (Walker, 2012). This still rings true in pockets of Wellington’s outer suburbs. However, to keep up with the city’s growing population the undulating hills that characterise the city, are rapidly being flattened for housing. This requires intensive earthworks, causing tremendous environmental and ecological implications. For the occupants, the flattened land these houses are constructed upon, limit their private outdoor space and connection to nature. These houses also increase the city’s energy demand, as they are predominantly built to minimum code requirements.

In response, The House and the Hill delves into the possibility of taking advantage of the opportunity the hillside offers. This research aims to reduce the environmental impact of intensive earthworks for flattening land, capitalise on the benefit the hill provides for more energy efficient housing,and return to working with the site to articulate a relationship between the house and nature.

This body of work lies between the speculative and the practical. The tension between these opposing forces are extensively explored throughout the design research process. A theory- based background research phase established the qualitative and quantitative objectives of this research. This includes working with the land for the sensitive development of compact suburban housing and exceeding the minimum requirements of the New Zealand Building Code (NZBC) clause H1 for energy efficiency. Inspired by Glenn Murcutt, the design process is highly iterative with a critical emphasis on working with the land. The final result is then designed in detail, and tested against the energy efficiency standards of the NZBC.