The award, which is sponsored by Altherm Window Systems, saw most of the six finalists using APL’s Metro and Architectural Series sliding doors in a range of bold applications.

The winning home, on Waiheke Island, had APL Architectural Series sliders that were recessed into the floor for a flush inside-to-outside look. Cavity sliding Architectural Series doors that withdraw almost completely from view were also used to achieve unobstructed sea views.

The home is situated on a prominent headland and is made up of three curved, timber-clad pod forms. The windows and doors frame slices of a dramatic 270-degree panorama that takes in Onetangi Beach and a series of rocky headlands.

The Home of the Year was selected from a shortlist of 11 homes from an open entry process. Jury members included Lance Herbst, of Auckland’s Herbst Architects, and Cathleen McGuigan, the New York-based editor of Architectural Record magazine.

The other finalists were Hugh Tennent and Sharon Jansen, of Wellington’s Tennent Brown Architects, for a home near Nelson; Ben Mitchell-Anyon, Tim Gittos and Sally Ogle, of Patch Work Architecture, for a home in Whanganui; Jane Priest, of Lochore Priest Architects, for her own family home in Westmere; Dominic Glamuzina and Aaron Paterson, of Glamuzina Paterson Architects, for a home in Wanaka; and a Christchurch renovation by Duval O’Neill, of Herriot + Melhuish Architects of Wellington.