Lake Benmore

Barn House

The Lake Benmore Barn House is a striking and unique house inspired by the soft curves of the hills in the Upper Waitaki Valley. With a curved profile, the building has been designed to blend gently into the unique landscape of the Lake Benmore – Omarama basin.

Using local, natural and low carbon materials. This high performance, energy efficient building maximises the living space in a simple, well organised layout in a small footprint. The barrel vault roof allows for a generous open mezzanine upstairs.

Project Brief

Magda from Fineline Architecture in Nelson worked with StrawSIPS and the client to create a small home with the following key objectives:

  • A home that is warm and cosy for the extreme winter temperatures, and keeps cool in the blazing heat of the summer sun. Omarama and the surrounding area is one of the most extreme climates for summer and winter in NZ.

  • A low maintenance building with durable exterior materials (corrugated steel and Magnum board), and simple, understated interior linings.

All architectural images, sketches and models are copyright of Fineline Architecture

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Project Details

  • StrawSIPS Wall System

    StrawSIPS Wall System

    The design was based around our modular panel system. 31 panels totallng 59m2, utilising all of our diferent panel types. The 8 degree roof pitch is built into the panels.

  • Timber Windows and Doors

    Recycled timber windows and doors were used. The doors are retro-fitted double glazed doors with native NZ timber frames which had been removed from an old house. With a little love they will perform better than aluminium jonery. The window was a recycled, but unused, timber frame window from Eurotech in Dunedin.

  • Clay Plaster strawbale

    Clay plaster Interior

    The StrawSIPs walls in the living area are clay plastered to provide a healthy, comfortable living environment. The thermal mass of the clay helps to regulate temperature, and the humidity regulting properties ensure comfortable and healthy air all year round.

  • Terralana Wool Insulation

    Terralana wool blend batt insulation was used in the floor and roof to create an extremely warm insulation around the entire building. 280mm of insulation in the floor (R6.4) and 380mm in the roof (R9.6) combine perfectly with the 400mm straw walls (R6.2).

  • Magnum Board and Batten Cladding

    Supplied by Health Based Buildig, Magnum board is magnesium oxide based. It is VOC free, breathabe, mould resistant, silica free, CO2 negative, fireproof, and has great impact, water and air-transfer resistance.

  • Steico Universal Woodfibre Board Rigid Air Barrier

    A woodfibre board to be used as an exterior RAB (rigid air barrier). Moisture-resistant, vapour permeable and windproof. With a low resistance to water vapour (similar to the StrawSIPS) moisture within the wall structure can easily escape to the exterior of the building without risking condensation and mould growth.

  • Lunos e2 60 Heat Recovery Ventilation

    Helps reduce condensation and mold by reducing indoor humidity

    Ultra-low energy consumption – uses less energy than a phone charger

    Allows building to breathe 100% filtered fresh air & removes bad odours

    German engineered ceramic core heat exchanger recovers up to 86% of energy

    Bedroom CO2 levels reduced for better sleeping patterns

  • Glulam Timber Roof Arches

    Strong timber laminated arches form the roof structure, eliminating any requirement for steel within the structure which would pose thermal bridging problems an add extra cost to the build.

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