I was going to write about the juxtaposition of the drama of a site and the mundane of everyday living but then I read the architect’s descriprtion and it was just so right…

Holidays beside the waters edge, water skiing and trout fishing, are wonderful memories for families. The bach is a keeper of these memories, which are at stake when work is done to preserve and update it. 

It was a process of saving and improving, of folding in another layer of history in a way that would not obliterate the past. The result is a nest of humble kiwi buildings, some parts new some original, that will now cope admirably with the demands of the future.

Lakeside classic, Tarawera, New Zealand by Mercer and Mercer Architects.