Much of Dashwood House is deliberately given over to family who visit throughout the year. For Ben, space for children and grandchildren to stay through long weekends and Christmas was central to the project. The home needed to make those visits part of its normal way of working.

A referral from a Blenheim build partner brought Modal Architecture to an exposed hilltop farm site. From here, the outlook reaches towards the Marlborough Sounds and Cook Strait. Those views offered a strong starting point, but the design also had to account for wind, sunlight, farm access and the practical requirements of living off grid. A clear investment budget formed another boundary for the work.

We tested these relationships through site analysis before organising the house around a long gabled pavilion and an L-shaped plan. The composition gathers the accommodation and shared spaces around the pool, with a covered deck forming part of the outdoor living provision. The substantial guest component follows directly from the brief: family visits needed to be accommodated in the architecture from the outset.

The material palette combines corrugated cladding and roofing with vertical and horizontal James Hardie Stria, thermally modified timber and recycled timber trusses. Together, these elements establish the character of the pavilion and its adjoining spaces. Solar generation and batteries address the requirement for off-grid services without becoming the sole focus of the home’s story.

Builder involvement and pricing began early. This gave the design process a practical reference point, keeping architectural decisions connected to the budget rather than leaving their implications until later.

In the completed home, accommodation for children and grandchildren is part of the main idea from the outset. The plan gives family visits the space to extend beyond a meal into several days together, with the hilltop outlook shared by the people Ben wants to welcome.