The Ballance Street Home

The house centres around an internal courtyard, with an open-plan living space that spills outdoors. Inside, space is used cleverly, providing moments for interaction and relaxation with built-in furniture and the blurring of boundaries between different zones.

The back wall of the studio provides privacy from the street and a soft linear backdrop to the front yard. The architecture of both structures is box-like and modern, with a sense of symmetry in the layout and elevation.

Fitting with the streetscape

The studio appears to float, with Vulcan cladding formed from random width battens that create a rain screen, which allows full impact of the cladding without the need for flashings. A silicate finish was chosen due to the street-facing location, surrounded by established buildings.

“While the studio has a modern aesthetic compared to the rest of the street, we also wanted it to blend in,” says Shane. “So using silicate, which weathers off to a natural finish, the studio stands out enough without making too much of a statement. Especially with the planting and grasses that we’ve used, the slow weathering has helped it settle into that environment.”

Sustainable choices

The choice to use Abodo products for his own home and workplace was made after Shane viewed a friend’s project that used Vulcan cladding and read up on the timber product. “We had a look at his house, looked at the timber, and did some research – then we met with Daniel Gudsell (Abodo founder) and Ben Campbell (Abodo’s Technical Director) and saw an opportunity to use something that’s more sustainable than traditional timber options,” he says.

This led to the architectural designer using the product on a house in Riverlea, before specifying it for his own house, something which he says exemplifies his support for the product. “People can be apprehensive about anything new, so by using Abodo timber we’re showing that we’re not just recommending solutions but that we’re using them ourselves.”

Designing for longevity

Inspired by mid-century modern architecture, Shane looks to create buildings that won’t date. As well as creating great buildings that fit into New Zealand’s coastal environment and rural settings - which are another huge influence - Shane believes his studio has a duty to provide good architectural solutions for New Zealand homes.

“This has become more of a priority, the more projects I’ve worked on,” he says. “We have a responsibility to look into what we’re using and where it comes from, and with Abodo, it was great to work with a New Zealand company rather than an importer.”