Located within a native beech forest on the edge of Nelson Lakes National Park and near Lake Rotoiti, Te Whare Rakau is conceived as a series of pods, carefully layered throughout the landscape to minimise ecological impact while offering varied spatial experiences of the forest environment.

Each pod serves a distinct function and is sited to engage with a different stratum of the forest. At the forest floor sits the boatshed; nestled among the trunks is the guest accommodation; and elevated within the canopy are the main living areas and primary bedrooms

The pods are elevated above ground on dark, trunk-like columns and clad in dark seam-folded aluminium, allowing them to visually recede into the blackened verticality of the beech forest. Internally, they are lined with native beech timber, reinforcing a sense of material continuity with the surrounding landscape.