Earthquake-damaged home honoured
by Metropol | December 10, 2025 8:33 am
Would you believe us if we told you an earthquake-damaged Somerfield home has been crowned the best house in New Zealand?
With a budget of just over $600,000, Mitchell Coll of Fabric worked with design and cost restraints to refresh Red Pine Villa in Somerfield – a project that would beat the best of the best nationwide at the prestigious 2025 Resene Architectural Design Awards. Judges found the villa a testament to sustainable design and contextual sensitivity. “Post-earthquake, this project emphasises the importance of maintaining embodied memory through the recycling of materials and transportable design. The house respects tradition through its form and materiality, while the perforated panels allow for a dynamic play of light, creating layered and filtered interior spaces. Its orientation gestures to the west, aligning with the streetscape proportions and ensuring futureproofing for growth and financial stability,” the judges say.
BEHIND THE BUILD
This 131m2 earthquake rebuild for a young couple set out to capture the essence of their beloved villa – retaining its character, extensive use of wood, and strong connection to the front and backyards and reimagine it as a family friendly, high-performing sanctuary.
Earthquake-damaged homes and buildings are built into the fabric of Christchurch’s story – Mitchell intertwined that history with contemporary elements. Many parts of the original building were retained including the patinaed garage, fences and driveway. “We considered the owner’s environmental values and tight budget; our initial discussions encouraged a forever home mindset and the retention of existing elements onsite,” Mitchell says.
“While deteriorated, the garage, fences and driveway now had a patina to embrace. Expanding on this aesthetic and considering the couple’s love for some of the more traditional elements in their previous home, we explored shoin-zukuri and sukiya-zukuri, which incorporate wabi-sabi aesthetics with the interplay of light and shadow–reminiscent of an ageing villa.” Mitchell managed the design, supported by building company Parthenon Construction, structural engineer Constructure, and geotechnical engineer Wiley Geotechnical. The budget and project cost reached $641,000.
Red Pine Villa also received the 2025 ADNZ Resene National Award for New Home up to 150m2 and the National ADNZ Resene Kaitiakitanga Award. Mitchell won the National Award for Resene Colour in Design for his work on Constructure Building in Christchurch Central, while another award winner in the region was Gareth Ritchie of Archco Architecture for New Home over 300m2 for his project Burntwood (pictured above) in Pegasus, North Canterbury.
Sam Connell of Figure & Ground won the National Award for Multi-Unit Housing for his project, Gracefield Avenue, in Central Christchurch.
Source URL: https://metropol.co.nz/earthquake-damaged-home-honoured/