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Rafe Maclean Architects

@rafemacleanarchitects

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@kauri_trees House by @rafemacleanarchitects is targeting full Passive House certification - one of the most rigorous building performance standards in the world. And we’re proud to be part of it. 🙌🏡

#ecowindows #passivehouse #nzhomes #highperformancehomes #passivhaus

We supplied our ECO WOODALU PH windows for this project - triple glazed, with spruce timber interiors and durable aluminium exteriors.

A system certified by the Passive House Institute in Germany for cold climates, designed to keep warmth in and energy bills down.

Our FAKRO flat roof windows will bring natural daylight in from above - without compromising on thermal performance.

We’re looking forward to seeing this one completed. 🙌 by @rafemacleanarchitects

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6 days ago

Latest pictures from the Kauri Trees House project (targeting Certified Passivhaus. View from road, scaffolding down. @kauri_trees

View from northeast. Windows not installed in this photo.

Windows installed this week. Ecowindows Enersign frames (Uf 0.64 W/m2K) with triple glazing. @ecowindows_hamilton taken in Taieri Beach, New Zealand by @rafemacleanarchitects

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19 days ago

Visit to the recently completed Watts House in Wānaka this morning.

Taking the common gable form, splitting it - and positioning glazing for privacy from the street, while…..

….maintaining the long views to the mountains above the neighbours….. taken in Wanaka, New Zealand by @rafemacleanarchitects

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2 months ago

On the eve of the launch of our new book Cape to Bluff Vol 2

Trust.

I’ve been thinking about trust a lot lately.

We often celebrate creativity through outcomes.

The photograph.

The building.

The exhibition.

The book.

But I’ve come to believe that the artistry isn’t only in the finished work. The artistry is in everything that precedes it.

The conversations.

The revisions.

The uncertainty.

The persistence.

The patience.

And perhaps most importantly, the trust.

Cape to Bluff Volume Two began long before a camera was unpacked. It began with architects trusting ideas, clients trusting architects, builders trusting drawings, families trusting places they couldn’t yet fully imagine, sponsors trusting the project, and eventually, someone trusting me.

We live in a moment where authenticity feels increasingly complicated. Images can be generated. Reality can be manipulated. The distance between what is real and what appears real seems to be growing every day.

Perhaps that’s one reason architecture continues to fascinate me.

Architecture remains stubbornly real.

A building exists in a particular place, under a particular sky, in a particular wind.

You can walk through it.

Touch it.

Occupy it.

And books are real too.

They have weight.

They take up space.

They ask us to slow down.

The photographs in this book are not architecture. They are simply my attempt to translate one experience into another.

A photograph is always a position.

A perspective.

A point of view.

Not the truth, but an honest encounter with it.

Thank you to everyone who made this book possible.

Trust is the foundation beneath every creative act.

You rarely see it, but without it nothing stands. by @rafemacleanarchitects

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4 months ago

Kauri Trees House (targeting Passivhaus certification) latest pictures from site just in. Roof form work starting to be established & exterior insulation being installed.
@kauri_trees taken in Taieri Beach, New Zealand by @rafemacleanarchitects

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4 months ago

by @rafemacleanarchitects

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4 months ago

On a more sobering note - we are thrilled that the NZIA awarded our Māori Point Road house (near Tarras) (Certified Passive House) an Award last night. Love receiving awards for our projects - so much thought and energy goes into them by all involved - so thank you NZIA for the nod, received and appreciated!
@nziarchitects,
@nzia_southern,
@dunlopbuilders,
@simondevitt_photographer,
@terralana_wool_innovation by @rafemacleanarchitects

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5 months ago

taken in Wanaka, New Zealand by @rafemacleanarchitects

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5 months ago

Delight.
Māori Point Road house shortlisted for NZIA Southern Architecture Awards. Looking forward to showing the judging jury around in a couple of weeks time. And it’s Certified Passivhaus, really comfortable you know.
@passivehousenz
@dunlopbuilders,
@simondevitt_photographer taken in Wanaka, New Zealand by @rafemacleanarchitects

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7 months ago

You still have time to book your spot for this fascinating upcoming PHINZ Webinar: A Case Study with Rafe Maclean on the Kauri Trees House project.

Join Rafe Maclean, @rafemacleanarchitects, and the project team, for a case study on the Kauri Trees House, Taieri Beach, south of Dunedin which is currently under construction.

Rafe will discuss the architecture, its structural uniqueness, and the complexities of insulating an all-concrete building to reach Passive House performance metrics. Warren Holt, Principal Engineer at @bmc.eng ; Jason Wanden, Senior Technical Manager at @sto_new_zealand and Chris Ross, Senior Product Specialist at @allcowaterproofing will share valuable and technical insights from their involvement in the project.

When: Tuesday, 17 March 2026, 12:30pm - 2pm

Cost: Free for PHINZ members
NZIA/ADNZ members receive a 25% discount
Non-members $30.00 plus GST

Where: online (Zoom)

CPD available: 2 CEPH hours/ 15 NZRAB pts

Book now
https://www.jotform.com/form/260486601201851 by @rafemacleanarchitects

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7 months ago

Home Magazine’s 2026 Home of the Year finalist; Māori Point Road house (Certified Passivhaus); People’s choice award; vote via the link in our bio - go on, it’s healthy……
@dunlopbuilders,
@simondevitt_photographer,
@homemagazine.nz taken in Wanaka, New Zealand by @rafemacleanarchitects

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7 months ago

Home of the Year | Finalist⁠
⁠
Māori Point Road House by @rafemacleanarchitects⁠
⁠
View more of the home, and all the Home of the Year finalists on homemagazine.nz now. Head to the link in our bio to explore, and vote for the project you believe should win the Readers' Choice Home of the Year Award!⁠
⁠
Images: @simondevitt_photographer⁠
⁠
Home of the Year 2026 is brought to you in partnership with @peterfellltd @duluxnz @studioitalia @csr_limited @feltexcarpets by @rafemacleanarchitects

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8 months ago