Residential project

Sumner House

Client:
Private
Location:
Christchurch New Zealand
Delivered:
2003

From the outset, the client expressed a desire for a home that would feel like a living work of art — playful, relaxing and expressive. A compact 336-square-metre site with an irregular shape and restrictive street setbacks reinforced the opportunity to embrace complexity rather than avoid it.

Influenced by the free forms and colour of Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Antoni Gaudí, the interior is composed as a tapestry of individual yet interconnected spaces defined by colour, voids and framed vistas. While spatially adventurous, the detailing remains crisp and controlled: aluminium internal door frames, glass stair balustrades, ceramic tile floors, Jarrah, stainless steel and granite establish clarity and refinement. Subtle, strategic lighting washes surfaces and delineates zones, enhancing both form and movement.

Externally, the house becomes a playful collage of sculptural forms and vibrant surfaces. Thick monolithic walls, deep-set openings and recessed windows create rhythm and contrast, with shaped apertures expressing the character of the interior to the street. Each elevation reads differently — a reflection of the dynamic spaces within — reinforcing the home’s identity as an architectural composition shaped by colour, geometry and imagination.