Expressed Rawness – Ophir House by Nott Architects

Expressing rawness, Ophir House responds to the surrounding remote landscape with a matched simplicity and elemental approach, allowing an honest textural materiality to elevate the everyday. Nott Architects draws from the arid natural elements and proposes a grounded home that connects to the site whilst ensuring visual connections are maintained.

Located in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, Ophir House sits comfortably within its namesake as a definitive expression of place. Surrounded by desert-like conditions, the response called for an approach that would create a home reflective of both the natural elements and the people that choose to live in such a location. In looking to other desert musings within Mojave, Sonoran and the US, a more weighted form was proposed to sit solidly among the sparsely vegetated landscape, electing instead to bunker the form as one level and contain it within a clean silhouette. The arid quality of the landscape inspired Nott Architects to create a personalised destination, combining shelter and refuge among considered gestures.

The arid quality of the landscape inspired Nott Architects to create a personalised destination, combining shelter and refuge among considered gestures.

Modest in scale, the sizing of the home acts as a reflection of its detachment from other supporting amenity, neighbours or anything resembling urban convenience. Conceived of as a campsite, the established residence combines both a dwelling and studio space as the more permanent elements on site, together with the owner’s Airstream. As the ultimate symbol of a nomadic and considered lifestyle, the moveable home represents a spirit of ephemerality, and of the Ophir House being an outpost in an undiscovered location. With views out to the surrounding ranges, the planes upon which the home sits are subject to extreme winds, further adding to the need for a solid form as protection from the elements.

Although New Zealand is recognised for its lush and green landscapes, it is also known for its vastly diverse natural conditions, which this home celebrates. Protected in part by the placement of larger rock forms, the structure nestles into the terrain, and through a rough and raw materiality, warm tones match the landscape palette. Framing views out into the distance, openings are aligned to connect the home to the surrounds whilst also providing an opportunity for ventilation and solar gains across the seasons. Significant earth-walls protect the interior and, together with Corten steel, timber, texture and a robustness are intrinsic to the result.

As the ultimate symbol of a nomadic and considered lifestyle, the moveable home represents a spirit of ephemerality, and of the Ophir House being an outpost in an undiscovered location.

As a place of calm, Ophir House is a reflective harbour in a unique setting. The camouflaged nature of the home’s comprising parts sees Nott Architects both respond and give back to the naturally occurring patterns across the site through using the location as inspiration in the structure’s design.