Striking geometric design shines in this luxury Queenstown development
Te Kete – The Piste is a terraced development of five luxury villas, located on a stunning hill site overlooking Queenstown’s Lake Wakatipu. Alessandro Quadrelli’s pragmatic, culturally inspired design maximises the living potential of each dwelling while accommodating the commercial requirements of the project.
The lakeside site, which offers stunning views of the Remarkables to the east and Lake Wakatipu to the west, was not without its challenges. The steep, narrow site has a single access point at the top of the hill, meaning lift access was required. As a result, five dwellings needed to be constructed to support the commercial outcomes of the development.
“The challenge became: how can we do five villas that retain the same amenities, the same privacy, the same sense of exclusivity, the same sense of relationship with the lake and nature, without feeling like apartments?” Alessandro says.
“If we tried to put everything in boxes and rows, we would never have done it.”
Alessandro began to explore how creative elements could solve the practical challenges of the project. During the modelling phase, the fusion of abstract geometry and pragmatic design inspired the “milestone idea” of the intertwined structures that give Te Kete its name.
“It was evident that I had to do something different,” Alessandro says. “I thought, ‘What if we start to intersect things? What if we start to do something that looks complex, but isn’t?’”
“That was the kete idea, the weaving, the braiding; it unlocked a lot of potentialities.”
The resulting braided design and diagonal orientation of the villas allow for deeper spaces, better vistas and increased sun ingress, delivering a luxury development that maximises the potential of its location in every season. The use of natural materials and strong interconnecting indoor-outdoor elements strengthen each villa’s connection to its unique natural setting, while private, luxurious mezzanine levels and expanded outdoor decking areas maximise the usable footprint of each space.
Developer and client, Robert Palmer, says working with AQA has been “a really good process from start to finish.”
“It’s been very collaborative, and the end result has been really fantastic,” he says. “I’m yet to show the design to someone without people falling in love with it immediately. Alessandro has been able to take the brief I gave him and turn it into something really incredible.”
Robert’s key drivers for the design were privacy, access, and a sense of exclusivity: everything homeowners would expect from a high-end Queenstown property.
This was especially true when considering the inclusion of lift access, without creating the feeling of a traditional apartment complex or neglecting the project’s commercial requirements. Robert and AQA were able to use early modelling to progress beyond the visual concept and value engineer the design before reaching the resource consent stage.
“Everything was done in a way that reflected a very high-end product,” Robert says.
“We’ve been able to work well together; I’m very focused on delivering a holistic design that doesn’t cut corners, and Alessandro is fantastic at thinking things through and coming up with a really practical, pragmatic but beautiful solution.”
AWARDS:
World Architecture Festival 2023 – Finalist https://www.worldbuildingsdirectory.com/entries/te-kete-the-piste/
Re-thinking The Future Awards 2023 – Winner https://awards.re-thinkingthefuture.com/the-piste-aqa/