Well connected
This Queenstown home features floor-to-ceiling glass rising to a beautiful
sail roof – custom window solutions created by Ellison’s Aluminium
from the Fairview Architectural range brought it all together
Above: With almost more windows
than solid walls, this home by
Christine Hall Architects opens up
its interiors to the landscape. A
sail-inspired roof required a fluid
response from the window and door
experts Ellison’s Aluminium. The
company worked with the Fairview
Architectural range to create a
system that despite its rigid, linear
lines appeared to faithfully hug the
rising ceiling. Images by Studio Jubb.
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An architect-driven, site-specific residence will
likely be specified with custom-everything, the
windows included. And when the home boasts
a beautiful, upward-curving sail roof, things
can get even trickier. Still, with the right window
systems and an expert fabricator all is well.
Ellison’s Aluminium, one of Fairview’s 50-
plus nationwide specialised manufacturers,
drew on the Fairview Architectural range to
achieve the desired look on this dramatic home.
Ellison’s general manager Sam Ellison says
the architecturally designed home’s sweeping
roof was a challenge to all involved, from its
design through to engineering and construction.
The beautiful roof curves out and up and
it was Ellison’s job to make the strong, linear
double-glazed window joinery appear to follow
its gracious curves. Effectively, the roof creates
the illusion that it is not attached to the body
of the home – much like a tethered canvas sail.
And having the timber ceiling run out past the
windows as soffits adds to this effect.
“To achieve the illusion of a broad curve we
changed the angle of the head – which is the
joinery element hugging the ceiling line – every
time it intersected with a vertical mullion. As the