A family home needs to accommodate more than the age its children are when the drawings begin. At Judgeford Hills, Phil and Alice wanted an arrangement that would remain useful as their children grew, with a shared centre and room for greater independence.

They approached Modal Architecture through an early online enquiry. Their rural site offered views across Porirua Inlet towards islands and the Marlborough Sounds, alongside exposure and the requirements of off-grid servicing. The project also had to work within a tight investment budget. These conditions shaped how much could be built and which parts of the brief most needed protection.

The house comprises twin gables linked by a central pavilion. This organisation gives common family life a clear place between the wings. The children’s accommodation can become more independent over time while retaining its relationship with the shared spaces. Adaptability is embedded in those spatial relationships, rather than left as a general promise about future use.

The way people move through the house also carries the landscape into the design. Main circulation routes frame the outlook, turning journeys between rooms into opportunities to see the surrounding country and distant water. The views therefore participate in the plan beyond the principal living spaces.

Pricing verification prompted a reduction in the footprint. We used that process to distinguish the amount of floor area from the architectural relationships that mattered most. The final home preserves the brief’s core: a shared family heart, an increasingly independent children’s wing and circulation that gives the setting a presence throughout the home.

For Phil and Alice, the home provides a way of living together that can change without losing its centre. Its organisation anticipates a family whose needs will develop, while keeping the scale of the project connected to the investment available.