Cotter Avenue House by Team Green Architects

Situated in a quiet residential enclave with a generous and enviable outlook, Cotter Avenue House focuses on the landscape. Team Green Architects proposes a modest and protective home for its residents, drawing on a robust simplicity to ground the form amongst the natural.

With closely flanked neighbours located on either side, Cotter Avenue House is a clever insertion that, once inside, ensures it is easy to forget the proximity to others. Located in Arrowtown, close to Queenstown, the formal composition hugs its own internal courtyard space to provide an outdoor protective area able to be used year-round. Due to its location, with views stretching out towards The Remarkables mountain range, the focus and direction for sightlines was clear, ensuring that openings were directed towards the view. With such an abundance of natural landscape comprising the surrounds, the building offers a balanced contrast as Team Green Architects looks to traditional rural materiality and residential forms to construct the final resolve.

Whilst familiar and lightly toned internally, the outer form of the structure is wrapped in protective and robust materiality, ensuring its appropriateness across the differing seasons.

Cotter Avenue House occupies a 685 square metre allotment and opens to both the east and west. In its positioning, it contributes to the low-density housing within the area, needing to adhere to a number of site-specific restrictions in its planning. Although the encasing materiality is responsive to the climatic conditions, there were no regulations that needed to be adhered to; the response took cues from a more rural vernacular, mixed with the simplicity of single level residential homes. The resulting structure is divided into the main space and a secondary smaller unit that, although attached, had to have its own separate amenities provided. Despite the smaller unit being imagined primarily as a studio space, both structures have open and shared living areas and two bedrooms with bathrooms.

While also protected from the elements, the courtyard adds additional privacy for the occupants, allowing them unencumbered access to their own dedicated outdoor landscape. Designed to maximise solar gain, with airtight glazing, the owners wanted the home to reflect their own values on efficiency. As a low energy residence, orientation and dedicated openings ensure seasonal comfort, while balanced heat exchange ventilation systems and increased insulation have all been integrated into how the home functions. Whilst familiar and lightly toned internally, the outer form of the structure is wrapped in protective and robust materiality, ensuring its appropriateness across the differing seasons.

While also protected from the elements, the courtyard adds additional privacy for the occupants, allowing them unencumbered access to their own dedicated outdoor landscape.

Cotter Avenue House uses a simple yet confident approach in bringing the rudimental elements of what makes a home together in its unique location. Team Green Architects has focused on creating connections outward to shape the experience of the home.