Reaching for the stars

PlaceMakers Ohakune customer wins design competition.

PlaceMakers Ohakune was delighted to see its customer, Maurice Regeer of MnM Design Ltd, take one of the top prizes at the ADNZ Resene Architectural Design Awards for its newly built ski lodge.

The regional competition, held across Taranaki, Wanganui and Manawatu, recognises successful design in residential and commercial architecture across a range of categories, including new homes, multi-unit dwellings, interiors, alterations, additions and industrial design.

“We’re glad to have Maurice as a customer,” says branch operator Garth McInnes, who also runs the Wanganui store. “He started working with us early this year, while building his own Ohakune bach.”

MnM Design’s ski lodge, ‘Stargazer’, outshone the other entries to capture the award for Residential Compact New Home up to 150m2. Judges said they were astonished and impressed that the three-bedroom, two-bathroom design was built for $140,000 and said it could easily be suited to permanent use.

Maurice, originally from the Netherlands, says his experience working with tight footprints there and building relocatable houses in New Zealand has taught him to maximise space. He’s been involved with more than a dozen homes in Ohakune and enjoys working with PlaceMakers.

“It’s been a pleasure working with them, especially depot manager Carl Zweibruck,” says Maurice. “It can often be a challenge to get items off the shelves’ in a rural setting, but they’re always well stocked.”

He says incorporating site views and making the house look uncomplicated were the two biggest challenges.

“Generally, houses which look uncomplicated are expensive to build,” says Maurice. “We used materials common to commercial buildings. The big span in the living and dining area was achieved with steel purlins, used in warehouses. The floating canopy over the entry to carport is engineered with simple construction methods and materials that are widely available.”