Buchanan Rise House, Wānaka

Set at the apron of a gently sloping hillside, Buchanan Rise is designed to sit comfortably within its site, following the natural contours of the land rather than imposing a rigid geometry on the landscape. The plan is generated by a series of intersecting axes that move through the house as circulation routes before extending beyond the building as framed views into the surrounding landscape.

The form responds closely to the physical characteristics of the site, particularly a prominent rocky outcrop positioned behind the house. Rather than removing or building over this natural feature, the plan changes direction to work around it, allowing the rock to remain an integral part of the setting. This response breaks the house into three distinct but connected elements: a central main living space with two attached bedroom wings.

The resulting arrangement provides a clear separation between shared and private areas while maintaining a strong connection between them. The living spaces sit at the centre of the plan, providing a natural gathering point for the family, while the two bedroom wings create more private areas at either end of the house.

The building’s geometry is deliberately non-rectangular, with the roof following the irregularity of the plan rather than imposing a conventional pitched or flat-roofed form. This approach allows the house to respond to the glacially scraped hillside behind it, using changes in direction and roofline to reduce its visual presence and reinforce its relationship with the surrounding terrain. The result is a house shaped by its site, with the landscape influencing both the organisation of the plan and the character of the building.