Antipodes Retreat – Where the Land Rests

HM of New Zealand Nature Retreat: Antipodes Island

+ HONOURABLE MENTION

New Zealand Nature Retreat: Antipodes Island

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Antipodes Retreat  – Where the Land Rests

Team

Name: Yujie Weng

Instagram: its_me__yujie

Nationality: New Zealand

Institution / Company: University of Melbourne

Name: Jiangyiwen Zhang

Instagram:  jiangyiwenzhang

Nationality: China

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This project aims to create a retreat architecture that is deeply aligned with the genius loci of Antipodes Island. Conceived as an Antipodes Island retreat, the building provides spaces of rest and refuge for guests, while also functioning as a small research hub.

The roofscape merges seamlessly with the land, allowing the building to read as an extension of the island’s topography. A large portion of the programme is embedded partially or fully underground. Carefully restrained openings are introduced to shape a specific interior atmosphere while simultaneously reducing thermal bridging and heat loss. The remaining above-ground spaces are constructed using a lightweight timber frame that lightly touches the ground, minimising site disturbance and allowing the space beneath to remain accessible to other forms of life.

Materially, the project primarily employs stone, timber, and rammed earth. Stone and earth materials can be sourced directly from the island, while timber is transported from New Zealand. These material choices reflect those commonly associated with New Zealand architecture, grounding the project in its broader regional context.

The building integrates a series of systems and equipment—including photovoltaic panels, an anaerobic digester, turbine generators, and water tanks—to support a fully off-grid operation.

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Jury Comments

– Olivia Bina

seamless integration overland, sensitive to context challenges, gave thought to how this might be self sustaining