Red Rock House is a cliffside residence offering spectacular ocean views, built by Borrmeister Architects in 2019 and located in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Description
The combination of a challenging cliff-edge location and extremely difficult logistical challenges meant that the Red Rock House project on Scarborough Hill in Canterbury was an exercise in tenacity for both client and architect. The small 400m2 plot (a third of which is the access road) is situated on a cliff face on a private access road, which is carved out of red volcanic rock and rises above the coastline.
If the site was not already challenging enough to transport materials to the site, the road closure (caused by damage from the Canterbury earthquakes) has forced the narrowing of the already narrow access road. “This made the project very complicated because we couldn’t transport any large loads to the site, so they had to be transported by small lorries, vans or trailers,” says Wulf Borrmeister of Borrmeister Architects.
In addition, the access road was closed for repairs between 9am and 4.30pm for three months during construction. In short, the project could not have been more logistically challenging.
Fortunately, the brief for the house was simple: the clients had sold their earthquake-damaged house in Sumner village and wanted to downsize to a house that was relaxed, captured the sea views and felt like a holiday home.
In addition, they had some green ambitions:...