Sawmill Brewery Matakana

The Sawmill Brewery was established in 2004 at the site of an old 19th century timber mill. By 2016 the craft beer movement had well and truly hit New Zealand, and so a new site was found to accommodate the rapidly expanding business. The Sawmill Brewery now sits within a beautiful rural landscape near Matakana village with views of Mt. Tamahunga.

In keeping with the rural vernacular, the main structure of the building is based on the form of a simple shed. In tandem with the main brewing operations, there is also The Smoko Room – a restaurant and tasting room with a seasonal and locally sourced menu. In contrast to the main space, The Smoko Room is domestic in scale, opening out to a sheltered exterior area protected both from the road as well as from prevailing winds.

The bulk of the timber used was sourced from the west coast of the South Island, where a cyclone 2 years previously had decimated a large swathe of beech forest. The recovered timber was left to air dry for 18 months, developing a natural patina through exposure to the elements. Native beech was used for the weatherboards and decking on the exterior, alongside interior sarking and flooring. New Zealand windfallen native timbers – pohutukawa, rimu, and manuka – were also incorporated throughout the interior.

The beautiful 1920s Totora sash windows were recovered from a recently demolished hospital. Hand blown glass globes were mixed with turned timber and spun brass shades for the lighting fixtures, and the brewery’s shelving, stairway, and furniture were all custom made either locally or on site. This focus on materiality and detail led to the development of a unique character for the new building, where all aspects of the project are a celebration of an artisan approach to building. A revolving collection of contemporary NZ art is displayed curated by MPD.

PROJECT DETAILS: Internal floor area 700sqm, completed in 2016
DESIGN: Mike Petre Design
CONSTRUCTION TEAM: Bigwood Builders
INTERIORS: MPD & Rachel O’Malley
LANDSCAPE: MPD
TIMBER MERCHANT: NZ Natural Timber Company
PHOTOGRAPHY: Jo Currie