An awarding-winning New Zealand architectural and interior design firm, Cymon Allfrey Architects employs an approach that emphasizes client collaboration to produce intelligent structures with a personal touch. Nestled in a semi-rural corner of North Canterbury’s Hanmer Springs, the firm has developed its latest project from the ground up to inspire family living that “fosters the qualities of holiday making.” The result is the Family Bach, a isolated retreat that employs timber as a principle material in an effort to unify the entire property with feelings of honesty and warmth.
External surfaces of unfinished cedar present a counterpoint to the dark stained cedar of the primary buildings, which are intended to weather over time as the family ages within them. Reflecting a family unit in its overall design, this bach (a New Zealand term for a modest holiday home or beach house) is comprised of three independent structures that are organized around a communal outdoor space.