I recently visited a project that I designed and documented as Director of my previous partnership to see how the house is settling into its environment. The owner has made good progress on the landscaping and external works which is often an area that gets neglected as either the time, effort or money was not allowed for in the original project plan or budget.
This particular site has its challenges of cold and extreme wind conditions, so it is good to see robust planting to match the robust detailing of the external cladding and exterior courtyard.
Originally it was envisioned that both the Living and Bedroom wings be clad in schist and the separate garage be clad in corrugated iron. For reasons of budget and ensuring that the quality of stonework used was exceptional, the living wing was clad in schist and the bedroom wing and garage were clad in a plaster system in muted colours to satisfy the Central Otago district Council. The stonework by Southern Stonemasons has come up very well, a job well done.