ALKI
ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN STUDIO
CLIENT
LOCATION
TYPE
Pete + Ruth Day
Wānaka, Otago
Residential
PACKAGE
DATE
REVISION
Preliminary
22 Sept 2026
6
WELCOME Package Nº6
Following our review together, this package translates the revised sketch plan into CAD, allowing the scale, proportions and spatial relationships of the home to be understood more accurately within the site. Encouragingly, the underlying planning established through our last round has remained largely intact. The focus has instead shifted toward refining the architecture around it — adjusting the structural grid, opening the living spaces, resolving the master suite, and better understanding how the roof, colonnade, outdoor living and landscape work together. The three-dimensional model has also allowed us to begin testing how the home sits within the contours, particularly around the entry and western outdoor spaces, while continuing to balance architectural expression with opportunities to simplify construction and material use. As always, this remains an iterative process. The intention of this package is to review these refinements together, walk through the BIM model, challenge what still needs challenging, and continue to refine.
2
Alki Architecture + Design Studio, Preliminary Pete + Ruth Day
Nº2
WELCOME Nº3
FEEDBACK Nº4
DESIGN Nº11
NEXT STEPS
Day Residence
SUMMARY Following our last review, the revised sketch plan has been translated into CAD and developed threedimensionally, allowing the proportions, structure and relationship to the site to be studied in greater detail. One of the primary refinements has been increasing the underlying structural grid from 1.5 m to 1.8 m. This retains the planning established previously while allowing fewer timber posts at wider centres, creating a calmer rhythm through the external colonnade. The home has extended slightly north to give greater generosity to the principal living spaces, with the living room now approximately 4.5 m wide. The western end has also been refined around the new sitting nook and bar, with the fireplace and television centred within the room and the connection to the outdoor fire area shifting south accordingly.
DESIGN REFINEMENT
The kitchen has been opened further to the living and dining spaces. Rather than retaining a long, narrow scullery, the fridge and stacked ovens are recessed beneath a lowered soffit, providing much of the same functional storage while reducing enclosure and allowing the kitchen to remain more connected to the wider room and views. To the west, the master suite has been refined alongside the outdoor living and landscape. The ensuite now incorporates the bath, shower and enclosed WC within one generous room, while the walk-in robe remains substantial despite some reduction in shelving. The lower roof form, timber shutters and landscape elements begin to give this wing a quieter expression while retaining a clear relationship to the main home.
DESIGN
3
REFINEMENT
STREET CORNER ASPECT
The Stone Anchor. UPPER FLOOR AREA / 197m2
LOWER FLOOR AREA / 90m2 TOTAL/ 287m2
The revised massing retains the long, low horizontal character established through the earlier design while beginning to distinguish the principal home from the quieter master suite wing. The main 3° monopitch roof falls gently toward the east, supported by a rhythmic structure of dark-stained glulam posts and beams. The wider 1.8 m structural grid reduces the number of columns while retaining the depth, shadow and expressed structure that have become fundamental to the architectural language of the home.
At the eastern edge, the stone portcullis remains a strong grounding element. Here, I recommend retaining the expressed timber beams above the stone wall, allowing the weight of the masonry and lightness of the timber structure to read together as a deliberate composition. The driveway has been positioned toward the eastern edge of the site, creating greater opportunity for landscape to wrap around the north-eastern corner of the stone wall. As planting develops, this will help soften the scale of the two-storey entry and visually settle the upper level back into the land.
exposed rafters + thin roofline
Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Buehler House'
eaves mirroring stone wall
INSPIRATION The material palette remains warm, natural and restrained, with dark-stained timber, stone and softly textured interior finishes grounding the home within its landscape. Expressed glulam structure and matching timber cladding are concentrated along the principal elevations, with AliClad aluminium cladding introduced to less prominent areas to reduce cost and ongoing maintenance. The intention remains simple: use natural materials where they will be seen, touched and experienced, while allowing the structure, landscape and outlook to remain the focus.
dark timber interiors + lime plaster
basalt + expressed structure 5
Alki Architecture + Design Studio, Preliminary Pete + Ruth Day
Day Residence
SPATIAL PLAN LOWER FLOOR PLAN
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THE STONE ANCHOR Scale 1/150
The lower level remains largely consistent with the previous sketch study, with minor refinements to arrival, storage and circulation. At the entry, the previous gear-room door has been replaced with a built-in bench seat, with the entry sidelight providing natural light and a small outlook. The mechanical, gear and storage functions are now consolidated into one generous room, accessed beneath the stair and directly from the garage.
The double garage and 5 m-wide door remain, while the driveway has been further studied using indicative turning and reversing paths. Positioning it toward the eastern boundary releases more of the north-eastern corner for landscaping around the stone portcullis, helping soften the scale of the two-storey entry and settle the home into the site.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
driveway + turn bay covered + recessed entry zone entry + bench seating future lift mechanical, dryroom + storage double garage
SPATIAL PLAN FLOOR PLAN
18. up
16.
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art
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12. 11.
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art
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timber pole retaining <1m
timber pole retaining <1m
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13. 6.
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up
THE STONE ANCHOR Scale 1/150
The upper floor retains the planning established through our sketch studies, refined around the new 1.8 m structural grid and slightly extended north to give greater generosity to the living spaces. A full-height timber slatted wall defines the living room while allowing light and views into the stair beyond. The fireplace and television are centred within the room, with built-in joinery extending west to a new sitting nook and bar overlooking the north-western views.
The kitchen has been opened further by replacing the narrow scullery with recessed tall cabinetry beneath a lowered soffit, strengthening the connection between kitchen, dining, living and the landscape beyond. To the west, the master suite has been refined with an enclosed WC, generous ensuite and walk-in robe, while sliding timber shutters provide privacy and control the late-afternoon sun. The private wing can also be closed from the main house at the vestibule.
1. dining w. sitting nook + bar 2. fireplace + tv console 3. living room 4. kitchen 5. powder room 6. office + study nook 7. bathroom 8. bunk room 9. guest suite 10. laundry w. lift access
11. master suite vestibule 12. master suite 13. walk-in robe 14. master ensuite 15. outdoor fire + living 16. spa pool 17. upper deck w. outdoor shower 18. future sauna location 19. future stretch room location 20. future washing line location
SPATIAL PLAN ROOF PLAN
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THE STONE ANCHOR Scale 1/150
The roof is expressed as two related but distinct forms, reinforcing the hierarchy between the principal home and quieter master suite wing.
Above the master suite, the roof drops in height and falls west. This reduces the scale of the private wing and avoids carrying the larger roof structure across the western end of the home.
The main 3° low-slope metal roof continues as a long monopitch plane falling east, sheltering the primary living and guest spaces beneath a consistent structural rhythm. The expressed timber colonnade terminates with this principal volume, allowing the western outdoor fire area to remain open to the sky and mountain views.
The eastern timber beams remain important to the architecture, particularly above the stone portcullis. Along the northern elevation, my recommendation is also to retain the expressed beams, although we can compare this together in the three-dimensional model before confirming the final expression.
1. solar panels 2. metal roof slope at 3 degrees
ENTRY ASPECT
The Stone Anchor.
The covered deck above the entry is proposed as a simple timber-framed structure with open timber decking, rather than a waterproofed deck assembly. Conventional timber joists span between the expressed structure, simplifying construction, drainage and junction detailing while reducing cost. The open decking also allows the structure to remain visually lightweight above the stone portcullis.
More broadly, this view captures the architectural intent of the home — weight and lightness, stone and timber, shelter and openness. The architecture is anchored into the hillside with stone, while the expressed timber structure extends outward toward the landscape, creating a home that feels robust and permanent, but still light, open and connected to its setting.
NORTH WESTERN ASPECT
The Stone Anchor, Fin.
The western landscape becomes an extension of the living spaces, with filestone paving connecting the kitchen and dining directly to the outdoor fire and sheltered terrace. Beyond, the hillside steps upward to integrate the spa, outdoor shower, sauna and stretch room. Two low timber retaining walls work with the natural contours, creating opportunities for planting between the different levels while maintaining the panoramic outlook across Lake Wānaka and the surrounding mountains.
The main roof and colonnade deliberately stop short of the master wing, reducing structure and cost while leaving the outdoor living spaces open to the sky and views. Sliding timber shutters provide privacy and western solar control to the master bedroom while continuing the rhythm of the main house.
NEXT STEPS
REVIEW
Translating the sketch plan into CAD and three dimensions has given us a much clearer understanding of the home's scale, proportions and relationship to the site, while allowing the architectural expression to develop around it. I'd encourage you both to spend some time walking through the BIMx — particularly the living spaces, master suite and outdoor areas — and experience these against the wider mountain context. From there, another video call will allow us to review the refinements together, compare the few elements still open for discussion, and continue challenging and strengthening the design before moving forward. Refine, refine, refine.
NEXT
11
Alki Architecture + Design Studio, Preliminary Pete + Ruth Day
STEPS
Day Residence