The John McDonald Team was proud to work with Andrei and Abby Martin on their dream home. Much planning, love and attention went into this home to not only be as innovative and resilient as them and their family, but to also ensure the home acted as a platform for others to learn, trust and seek new building methods to meet the needs of the changing Christchurch Landscape. 

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"Andrei Martin is a man with a grand vision.  He's a project manager and he wants to do more than simply build a beautiful house for his family. He wants to replace their charming, but structurally unsound old cottage on the South New Brighton sandspit in Christchurch with a prototype.

He wants the house to serve as a blueprint for future earthquake rebuilds. "We've seen a massive growth (in housing) in Christchurch, but still houses are being built to the housing code minimum," he says. "We can do it better." By better, Martin means building faster and more cost effectively, with better insulation and sustainable design initiatives.

But, as with every Grand Designs build, nothing is that straightforward. Not only is this couple building on a sand dune, but there is a huge sink hole under the house where the sand has subsided. 

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The Martins' house will feature structurally insulated wall panels, an insulated steel roof, solar panels and a decorative cladding of rusted Corten steel panels and sun-bleached timber, appropriate to the beachside suburb. It will comprise two pavilions, with the kitchen and family living area in the glazed linking element."

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Colleen Hawkes