Veronica Alkema & Gary Stewart

Nudura block was specified by our architect for our studio, one of two separate structures comprising our new-build home and workspace near Ophir, in Central Otago.

The main house is built of rammed earth, and initially, what we liked about the Nudura block system was that it felt similar in terms of heft to our 450mm thick rammed earth walls, with its wonderfully deep window recesses. It also served as good structural retaining, as the studio is partly dug into a slope and we imagined – given the blocks are polystyrene – that the thermal qualities would be superior to using concrete block.

While our initial intention was to veneer the exterior of the Nudura block with schist, we ended up using a board and batten finish using ply and oregon timber battens very closely spaced to form a rain-screen look.

We have lived in the house and studio for a couple of years now and have found the studio to have superior thermal qualities, even to the rammed earth. It is easy to heat which it retains well in the depths of our sometimes freezing winters. In scorching mid-summer temperatures the space stays relatively cool – also helped by minimal glazing as it was built to house our library. It is also a very quiet environment to be in when we are experiencing high wind conditions. These qualities serve us well in the extreme climate experienced here at our exposed elevation of 350m.

We are very happy with the result.

Veronica Alkema & Gary Stewart

Designers

Ophir