Recycled bridge beams form the rafters at Bridgewell, while a two-storey Corten steel 'Tardis' changes colour as it weathers. These are defining parts of a home that Karl and Melina imagined for years: a Queenstown retirement base with space for food, wine, guests and family.

Introduced to Modal Architecture by our Mountain View Home clients, Kyle and Chris, the couple brought a brief that combined generous entertaining with practical requirements for storage and garaging. Views towards Coronet Peak and The Remarkables established the landscape setting. The home also needed to accommodate a longer view of retirement, including the possibility of independent accommodation in future for additional income and guest overflow.

That ambition required attention to planning as well as the building itself. Subdivision limitations and planning controls shaped the available options. Modal Architecture developed a staged strategy that preserves the future accommodation opportunity alongside delivery of the main home. Keeping that possibility in the design process gives it a place in the project’s direction, even though it is not an immediate requirement for the couple.

The architectural centre is a gabled living space whose rafters are made from recycled bridge beams. Their scale and material character are part of the experience of the room. Render and schist extend the palette, alongside the weathering steel of the 'Tardis.' Developed closely with Melina, this two-storey element gives a particularly personal expression to the design. Its changing surface introduces a material that will continue to change over time.

These choices sit within the couple’s wider priorities for entertaining and family life. The home makes space for those shared occasions while addressing the storage, garaging and future accommodation that support a longer-term home.

Bridgewell brings Karl and Melina’s retirement vision into everyday life. Its gabled living space gives hosting a central place, while the staged planning approach keeps future independent accommodation within the property’s longer-term possibilities.