We’re heading back to Wānaka! This September, we’re taking our Open Home series, produced in association with Dulux, to Otago to visit two favourite projects, before heading to Manawatū-Whanganui for the Festival of Design Aotearoa, ahead of our final event of the year in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. (Keep an eye out for more on the latter two.)

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In Wānaka, we’re dropping by Verdant House – winner of the Colour, Craft and Detail category in the 2024 Here Awards – and Mt Barker House, which featured in Here 36.

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Verdant House – designed by Pac Studio and Steven Lloyd Architecture – is a home for artist Katherine Throne and family. It’s colourful and joyful. Green-painted concrete block and Pioneer Red corrugate shelter a series of spaces with subtle delineation: this is a house with many places to withdraw to. Outside, Throne’s garden is truly something to behold.

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On to Mt Barker House, designed by Amelia Nuku, of architecture studio Nuku, for a family with an enduring connection to the site. Long and low, with a draping roof that reaches upwards over the living areas, it expands and contracts to accommodate the owners’ large, multi-cultural family. It’s laid out across two wings. Hard-wearing, practical and warm, this house is beguilingly simple.

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Tickets are on sale now – we’d love to see you there!

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What:‍

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Verdant House by Pac Studio and Steven Lloyd Architecture

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Mt Barker House by Nuku

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Where:‍

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Wānaka

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When:

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Saturday 22 August, 2026 from 9.30am

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Tickets:

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‍$30 (limited numbers!)

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