Adding to decades of success, we recently won the Supreme Award for Canterbury in this year’s House of the Year competition. Casa Moderno is an architecturally designed masterpiece by Sheppard and Rout. As featured in a Stuff article and awarded 2019 Canterbury Architecture Award. This state-of-the-art, contemporary family home exudes innovative design and craftsmanship. It has been a pleasure to work on such a unique build alongside a superb team.
Architectural Build
Architect: Sheppard & Rout
Situated in a premium suburb, the plot was formerly part of the historic Ballantynes Estate. Large established trees were lovingly preserved during the project and they stand impressively tall along the boundary that is also partially formed by the meandering Wai-iti stream. The couple arranged to slide the 85-tonne two-storey weatherboard home into its new position on steel beams. Sub-dividing the section off for the original house left them with less space, so when the opportunity to buy a neighbouring property came up they took it, making the total land area a sprawling 3000 square metres.
The oversized handcrafted front door is flanked by reflection pools that light up with coloured LED and spring into life with shooting jets, creating a spectacular display at night. The first of the two garages on the property is a feature in itself, sporting a first-of-its-kind mirrored glass retractable door. On the façade, the marble-look cladding gives a classic appearance achieved with Neolith Calacatta Silk sheets, supplied by CDK Stone and installed by Stone and Tile Solutions.
A photograph of a spiral staircase and pictures of Oprah Winfrey’s Miami home sparked the inspiration for the design ideas they took to the architect. Lance’s requests were for six-car garaging and future-proofing by incorporating high tech solutions for power generation, security, and entertainment via home automation. The couple has five sons and ten grandchildren to accommodate on their visits, so the plans included four bedrooms with walk-in robes and ensuite bathrooms plus an office space on the mezzanine with a movable wall and a fold-down bed, allowing them to convert the space to an extra bedroom when needed.
Adjoining the foyer are his and hers black and white powder rooms and a very glamorous lift in the hallway that leads to the expansive open plan living area. Taking centre stage in this space is the kitchen designed by Vicki Andrews of Vicki Andrews Design, crowned by the monolithic kitchen island; cantilevered to achieve the sculptural shape using Arabescato marble from Artisanstone. The benchtops are Caesarstone Pure White paired with etched glass door and drawer fronts in Wan White. Vicki added LED lighting to the cabinetry, highlighting the architectural features as well as providing task lighting under the overhead cupboards.
Lance’s technology has been delivered in spades with the 60 solar panels on the roof complete with a battery storage system and the state-of-the-art security and entertainment system, not to mention the separate two and four-car garages to house his impressive stable of luxury cars.
There’s a total of seven bathrooms across the two floors and while Lance and Sue selected and sourced all of the fixtures and fittings themselves, the job of installation and the extensive plumbing for the project was completed by Layne Watson Plumbing Limited who were proud to be involved in this exciting but challenging build.
Winners for the New Zealand Architectural Awards have been announced and we would like to congratulate Sheppard and Rout for the Casa Moderno masterpiece. Gregg Builders are proud to have worked alongside the team at Sheppard and Rout building this stunning home which truly is one of a kind.
Pictured from left to right: Blair Watson (Project Manager), Jonathan Kennedy (Architect), Lance Bunting (Owner).
