1329 Birchwood Road, Quailburn, Waitaki
A paradox in hospitality is The Lindis.
In a location roundly acknowledged at the least hospitable environment in New Zealand, the lodge is World Architecture's 2019 winner of the Hotel and Leisure category. Announced in Amsterdam, the festival and award could not have been further from 'The Lindis,' in every sense.
For the century since travel by road became possible through the South Island, the Lindis Pass in summer and in winter has been harsh and unforgiving to horses, vehicles and travellers. For that reason there was always a hotel at the summit of the arid mountain pass, and it has played admirable host and saviour to the passing folk. The new build belongs in an entirely different and rarefied category of tourism, one Aotearoa/New Zealand is only just beginning to touch upon.
As with much lauded new architecture, the sustainability credentials of the building are high. Architecture Workshop had to employ a veritable toolkit of measures to insulate the hotel from temperatures that range from 35 degrees in the summer to minus 16 in the winter, and winds and aridity surpassing any other microclimate in the country.
Internally, the abundance of timber is broken up by stone and concrete walls, which enhance the feeling of solidity in a wild environment. Interestingly timber has been taken outdoors too and applied to the curved roof, which echoes the glacial shapes of the Ahuriri Valley. Views of the surrounding mountain ranges and braided river are maximised in extensive glazed picture windows.
The architecture festival Judges are right, there is no location nor building of comparison in New Zealand, and maybe they are right, the world.
Image Credits: Booking.com
Nearby this Place
Featured Nearby
