Matheson House

by Warren and Mahoney

From the Architect

The Matheson House by Warren and Mahoney is a family home for multiple generations situated on a ridge-top site in Hope, Nelson. The house consists of a four-bedroom home for a young family with an attached, fully self-contained, one-bedroom studio for the grandparents. Our clients asked us to design them a home which would allow them all to inhabit the site, with its panoramic views to the Mount Arthur range, while maintaining a sense of privacy and autonomy between the two households. We developed a design for a family home that consisted of a series of living volumes spaced by outdoor courtyards. The courtyard spaces provided the spatial separation which enabled privacy between the households while also providing a series of sheltered outdoor living spaces. The linear arrangement of spaces resulted in an elongated, almost blade like form which we buried into the ground at one end and then drew out along the ridge line.

A key driver for the design was a consideration of the spatial sequencing as you first arrive, then move through and into the house. The arrival sequence draws out the moment you finally enter the home and are confronted with the panoramic vista. The other key consideration in the design of the house was the approach to materiality. The clients had expressed an affinity with a raw, almost industrial feeling. Because of this we sought to use a restricted palette of materials in their natural form to connect you physically with the house. The board finished concrete spine wall that greets you on arrival folds inward then gives way to walnut spine internally drawing you in to the warm interior. The front door handles are wrapped in leather and joints in the precast concrete panels are expressed with brass strips.