Let there be light – and plenty of stud height. Those were the overwhelming priorities for the owners of this award-winning, Cameron Cotton-designed Mt Maunganui home.

The result achieved by Cotton in close collaboration with his clients is a house dominated by a stunning double-height living and kitchen area, with views all the way through to the garden.

Declaring the house ‘best residential new home’ in the Bay of Plenty, the judges of the Architectural Design Awards described those views as “heroic”, but the tag could just as easily be applied to the joinery and glazing. Massive floor-to-ceiling Metro Series windows and doors were required to create such a spectacular space, all bolstered by ThermalHEART technology with low-E and Argon-filled double glazing to create a comfortable interior in the winter months.

If the owners have one regret, in fact, it’s that they didn’t stick with the thermally-efficient theme. “In retrospect, we should have used ThermalHEART in the rest of the house as well,” say the couple, who went for standard Metro Series products with clear double glazing elsewhere. (Products used include sliding doors, hinged doors, fixed windows and awning windows, all powder-coated Matt Black.)

But that’s a mere aside. Because whatever the weather throws, all that wonderful glazing and that heady stud height make this an inspirational home to inhabit. “The floor-to-ceiling windows at the front and rear mean we have views of the front section, and can look right through to the back fence. That’s quite uplifting – especially on a cloudy day.”