Cooke clad the building in a black-stained, sustainably-grown Canadian cedar, a durable choice that ages well and requires little maintenance. The dark glazing was chosen so windows appear seamless, accentuating the form of the building.
Architect Bergendy Cooke, who worked for Zaha Hadid and Peter Marino before returning to her home country in 2007, is an admirer of the strong, sculptural architectural forms that appear in Japanese and Spanish architecture. Outside Queenstown, she put her ideas into practice in a home that would be the benchmark for bc+a studio, her own venture.
The site is in a slight depression, and surrounded by mountains, so the architect kept the footprint small, and built upwards to give access to the views. Recessed, floor-to-ceiling windows frame the views while gathering passive heat from the sun in winter, and shading the interior in summer.
