Ultra-luxury villas take over long empty corner of CBD – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

The inner-city Christchurch corner site at Montreal and Gloucester Streets has sat largely empty for many years.

Now finally, a standout jewel of two high-end contemporary villas is about to be added to the garden city’s post-quake crown.

Designed in 2016 after a long gestation period, the two homes opposite the Christchurch Art Gallery are almost ready to be unveiled, with one already completed and on the market at 47 Gloucester Street.

Architect Tobin Smith, director of Common Architecture, has always been aware of the sensitivity required for the project because of its highly visible location near public buildings of importance.

Designing the homes in a way that they blend with both public and private surrounding architecture, as well as fitting in with Christchurch’s feel, was of paramount importance, he says.

“The influence for this project is a more playful adaptation of what we call ‘the crisis style’,” says Smith.

“The crisis style is probably characterised, or known for strong gable forms, basically, because as a city, much of our architecture was Victorian and Gothic, we had really stark roof angles.”