Central Otago is one of New Zealand’s most iconic regions — its rugged landscape is enticing, the perfect place to build a dream home. But whether you’re dreaming of a secluded spot with views of the Remarkables, or your own sanctuary on the shores of Lake Wanaka, building here comes with unique challenges.
This is a place of harsh seasonal shifts, and building a comfortable home requires careful consideration of many aspects. Simple design mistakes can become costly over time.
With over a decade of experience designing homes tailored to the specific demands of Queenstown and Wanaka, we’ve learned what works, and what doesn’t.
Here are tips to help you make better decisions when building in the Southern Lakes.
1. Underestimating the climate: it’s complex, not just cold
Central Otago is known for its cold winters, but it’s a region of extremes year-round: hot, dry summers, intense UV exposure even in cooler months, and of course, sub-zero winter nights. Temperatures can fluctuate dramatically throughout the day — in Arrowtown, you’ll often experience a 15-degree swing in temperature between day and night.
And yet, many new builds are not made to respond to this full range of conditions. Insufficient insulation, mediocre windows or lack of protection from the sun can lead to discomfort, excessive energy use and long-term building degradation.
2. Poor decisions around orientation and layout
In the unforgiving climate of Queenstown or Wanaka, your home’s orientation and layout make a huge impact on the living experience. To mitigate the winter chill, north-facing living spaces are essential to maximising solar gain. This orientation will also help to dramatically reduce the burden on your heating/cooling systems.
Bedrooms with significant east or west-facing glazing are more likely to overheat in summer, so thoughtful orientation and use of shading are key here.
A simple and powerful method for optimising your orientation is a sun study: modelling sun path and shading using real topography before starting on a design. At Team Green, we do this as part of both our architectural projects and consulting services.
3. Neglecting shading
Everyone loves a beautiful glazed elevation, but with that beauty comes risk — if the glass isn’t protected by shading. Without proper shading and ideally, high-performance windows, a stunning-looking home can become uncomfortably hot and put your cooling systems into overdrive. And who likes to sit around with the aircon blasting all day if you can avoid doing so?
Energy modelling will give insights into the optimal use of shading, and so much more. We won’t build without doing energy modelling, and neither should you.
TGA Tip:
External shading such as blinds, shutters and eaves are around four times more effective than internal blinds.
4. The devil is in the detailing
Thermal bridges, air leakage and poor junction detailing are all common in NZ builds but these are preventable issues. Gaps in the thermal envelope often result from poor detailing, and these gaps will cause your home to underperform. Avoid gaps and you’ll avoid drafts and mould, and you’ll also save money in the long run.
For homes to perform in Queenstown or Wanaka, we can no longer rely on outdated detailing like standard double glazing or uninsulated concrete slabs. While still common in the industry, we’ve seen firsthand how they underperform in Central Otago conditions.
5. Ignoring local context
Central Otago is not the right place to simply copy-paste a design from a catalogue or urban setting. Doing this would not only lead to a design that’s visually jarring, it would likely result in planning pushback. The region has a robust architectural tradition which designs typically need to respect to be approved.
Designing for alpine places, both rural and urban, takes some specialisation — we recommend choosing an architect who seeks to complement the landscape rather than simply build their vision on it.
In 2025, our Moonlight Tui home in Arthurs Point received national recognition for its understated elegance and sensitivity to place — proof that thoughtful design not only resonates with clients, but with the land and planning bodies too.
Learn more about our award-winning projects.
6. Failing to future-proof
Ideally, building decisions made today should serve you well for decades. However, it’s common for people to underinvest in the elements that matter most: thermal envelope, windows and ventilation.
Opting for high performance in these aspects will significantly reduce running costs and improve comfort. Ideally, you should make the decision to go with high-performance features early in the process so as to reduce the risk of cost overruns due to mid-project spec changes.
TGA Tip:
Ask your architect to provide a cost-benefit breakdown of various options using energy modelling.
Want to get the fundamentals, and the details, just right for your Central Otago dream home?
A beautiful home in Queenstown or Wanaka must be more than just a pretty face. In an unforgiving place, your home should be tailored to its site, designed to perform, and built to stand the test of time.
Considering building a home in the region? As experienced Queenstown architects, we offer a strong local pedigree and specialist guidance to help you create a home which will reward you for generations to come.
