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‘Provocative’ family home comprising two 33m² boxes takes top award

Saturday, 25 October 2025

There are two parts to architect Guy Tarrant’s award-winning house in Worser Bay, Wellington. A new sleepout sits at right angles to the 1940s cottage on the roadside. The linked buildings are each 33m².
There are two parts to architect Guy Tarrant’s award-winning house in Worser Bay, Wellington. A new sleepout sits at right angles to the 1940s cottage on the roadside. The linked buildings are each 33m².

A tiny family home featuring a renovated 33m² character cottage and a similarly sized modern sleepout has taken out Here magazine’s Best House Aotearoa 2025 award.

Sergeant’s Cottage by Guy Tarrant Architects, in Worser Bay, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington offers a radical way of living for owner Luke Pierson and his two children.

This is the original tiny sergeant’s quarters moved onto the site in the 2010s. A sheltered deck almost doubles the living space for the family.
This is the original tiny sergeant’s quarters moved onto the site in the 2010s. A sheltered deck almost doubles the living space for the family.

The house draws on the bach tradition of having a covered deck between living areas and sleeping areas. And that tradition was one of the things that kept drawing the award judges back to this project.

The new is juxtaposed with the old. The sleepout in the foreground features a skin of white-painted battens. The home features on the cover of Here magazine, in stores from this coming week.
The new is juxtaposed with the old. The sleepout in the foreground features a skin of white-painted battens. The home features on the cover of Here magazine, in stores from this coming week.

Here editor Simon Farrell-Green says the rōpū kept coming back to Sergeant’s Cottage “because it felt so provocative”.

“We’ve romanticised the idea of living between buildings at the bach for years - going outside to go inside, and all of that - but doing it at home? In Wellington? That felt really exciting.”

The cottage has a traditional character (left); the sleepout is lined with rimu rescued from the old house that once stood on the site.
The cottage has a traditional character (left); the sleepout is lined with rimu rescued from the old house that once stood on the site.

“If they can live in 66m², then why do they need 300m²? This might be to architect Guy Tarrant’s regret of course, but this little house has changed the thinking of both the owner and the architect.”

Farrell-Green describes the house as small, but really complex despite its apparent simplicity.

Owner Luke Pierson says the whole project has made him rethink exactly how much space the family needs, and this will impact a later build he will undertake on the site.
Owner Luke Pierson says the whole project has made him rethink exactly how much space the family needs, and this will impact a later build he will undertake on the site.

“The level of detailing, as you would expect from one of the country’s most respected architects, is exquisite, and the planning is excellent. It is something of a masterpiece packed into one very small package.”

The project also won the Reuse and Renovation Award.

Runner up: BB House by Upoko Architects combines lofty spaces with a very small footprint.
Runner up: BB House by Upoko Architects combines lofty spaces with a very small footprint.

Pierson says he will one day build a new house further up the site, but this project has allowed the family to get on site early. It has also questioned just how much space they will really need in a new house.

Te Mara by Crosson Architects provides more than 30 two- and three-bedroom homes on a site that once held six stand-alone houses.
Te Mara by Crosson Architects provides more than 30 two- and three-bedroom homes on a site that once held six stand-alone houses.

Family connection

Passive Modern by Edwards White Architects has a high-performing “envelope”.
Passive Modern by Edwards White Architects has a high-performing “envelope”.
You’ll find the unexpected around every corner and from every view of this house set on farmland just outside New Plymouth.
Heathcote Valley House by Pac Studio is a playful home with touches of whimsy and some very beautiful cabinetry.
Heathcote Valley House by Pac Studio is a playful home with touches of whimsy and some very beautiful cabinetry.
Red Pine Villa by Fabric replaces a much-loved but quake-damaged villa.
Red Pine Villa by Fabric replaces a much-loved but quake-damaged villa.

Farrell-Green says the owner’s two grandfathers knew Hank, the previous owner of the site and spent time there. “Hank moved the 1940s sergeant’s cottage onto the site some time in the 2010s, living there until his death.

“When Pierson bought the property, the main house was too far gone to save, apart from the rimu sarking which was re-milled, then used to line the inside of the sleepout.”

The rōpū made special mention of the way the heritage features were integrated with beautiful new details. The skin of white painted timber battens and shutters on the sleepout creates privacy and security - and looks very pretty at night. It’s also a link to the white-painted weatherboard cottage.

Farrell-Green says the team saw the effects of five years of disruption to the building industry. “These homes were designed and built in the middle of Covid lockdowns, supply-chain issues, rapid increase in building costs, interest rises and a recession. Our brave homeowners have responded accordingly, questioning what they really need.

“Their architects have performed heroic acts of design to create houses with personality and drama despite constrained budgets. They say difficulty creates better design - this year proves that point.”

Other winners: