Overview
Entrant:
Studio Pacific Architecture
Category:
08. Residential Design Award for Single Family Dwelling
Photographed by:
Simon Devitt
Key team members:
Stephen McDougall (Project Director)
Wayne Lightfoot, Victoria Wright (Design Team)
Nicki Vance, Alistair Cattanach (Dunning Thornton)
Pinnacle Construction
Set within a 16-acre rural clearing near the Kāpiti Coast, Kāpiti House is a retreat for family and whānau shaped by kaitiakitanga and a desire to tread lightly on the land.
Two simple forms, a main barn and a guest tower, sit low looking out to regenerated wetlands and toward the sea. From the outset, timber was not simply a material choice but the structural, environmental and emotional foundation of the project.
The house is 98 percent timber by structure. The primary structure is a locally manufactured radiata pine CLT portal frame and truss system by Nelson Pine. CLT portals define the main living volume, while exposed CLT trusses span the barn to create a lofty, column-free interior. The fly-ash concrete slab sits on H5 timber piles, with timber structure throughout the remainder of the house and tower. Roof structure, wall framing, joinery, decking, interior doors and built-in cabinetry are all timber.
The exposed CLT portals and trusses create volume, rhythm, strength and clarity, giving the central living space a sense of generosity without excess. Recycled rimu lines cross walls, while FSC-rated tempered hardboard lines all longitudinal walls and ceilings in full sheets. This consistent material language creates warmth, acoustic and visual calm. All internal linings are clear-coated meaning the timber is structure, lining and atmosphere in one.
Uncoated Accoya cladding and doors weather naturally, reinforcing the agricultural language of the forms. Accoya balustrades and pool fencing extend the timber expression into the landscape, while Vitex decking and pool capping provides durability in high-exposure zones.
Timber was selected for structural clarity, constructability, aesthetics and long-term environmental performance. CLT allowed the portal frame and trusses to be both structure and finish, reducing layers and eliminating plasterboard entirely. The system reduced wet trades on site and simplified sequencing, with on-site prefabrication contributing to construction efficiency. Steel was the only alternative, but timber offered lower embodied carbon, local manufacture and an integrated architectural expression that steel could not provide without additional lining systems and cost.
The building achieves a whole-of-life embodied carbon of 362 kgCO₂e/m², with 725 kgCO₂e/m² of sequestered biogenic carbon. Combined with solar generation, on-site water storage and wastewater treatment, the house can operate off-grid.
Beyond performance, timber shapes the emotional experience of the house. The tactile grain of rimu, the texture of the hardboard, the scale of CLT, and the softness of wool insulation and finishes create a calm, grounded interior suited to gathering and retreat. Fine fabrics hang in place of wardrobe doors, and colour appears subtly at door edges and drapery, but timber provides the constant.
Kāpiti House demonstrates how timber can move seamlessly between structure, enclosure and experience. It proves that a single-family dwelling can achieve environmental rigour, construction efficiency and enduring warmth through a disciplined and expressive use of locally grown wood.