Racer creates home for slower pace
Top Kiwi driver ultimately plans return with family
At the time it was a no-brainer but I look back now and think my parents were borderline crazy to just let me hop on a plane like that and go for it.
Life as a top racing driver is extremely high-pressured, as Kiwi Brendon Hartley will attest. A professional driver since the age of 15, the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans race winner runs on nervous energy when he’s on the track, so when he’s at home it’s important to have an environment where he can be totally relaxed.
That was something Brendon and wife Sarah kept in mind when they recently built their dream home in Acacia Bay, Taupo¯. The couple are based in Monaco but wanted a place in New Zealand that would serve as a holiday home now, and their permanent abode in the future.
With the help of an architect friend, they came up with a design intended to make the most of the stunning setting and breathtaking views of Taupo¯ and Mt Tauhara.
The living space has a wall of windows that frame the outlook, and soaring raked ceilings to create a feeling of space. At one end is a room where Brendon can chill while enjoying the calming view and listening to music.
“Music’s one way of dealing with pressure,” he tells Coast FM Radio host Sam Wallace in a podcast. “I said, ‘We don’t want a TV, we’re putting in a record player’. I love sitting in that room — I’ve got a leather listening chair and massive speakers . . . look to the left and you’ve got the view out towards Taupo¯.”
The windows play a crucial part in the functionality and aesthetic appeal of the home, and when it came to choosing what joinery to use, Brendon was thankful to have the assistance and technical expertise of Altherm Window Systems, a Kiwi company which is also his sponsor.
He opted for Altherm’s Metro Series ThermalHEART 2.4m high stacker sliding doors, made by Apex Windows, to open up the house to outside, plus a bi-parting sliding door that links the dining room to the outdoor entertainment area. Seeing the steel framing and engineering work required to put the enormous glass doors in place was “a whole learning process”, says Brendon.
Roof windows have also been used to good effect throughout the home, not only providing light in areas such as the kitchen and main bedroom, but allowing hot air to escape in the warmer months.
“I like the idea of being able to have airflow throughout,” Brendon says.
Awning windows at each end of the living space also help with ventilation and mean there’s no need for air conditioning in this part of the house. Meanwhile the roof windows are electric and come with blinds for night-time.
Many features in the smart home can be controlled by an app, even when Brendon and Sarah are on the other side of the world. Originally from Palmerston North, Brendon has a great life in Monaco but looks forward to coming home for visits and is pleased to know that when the time comes for him and his family (he and Sarah are expecting their first child this month) to shift back here, they’ll have the perfect family home.
Brendon, who started racing gokarts at age 6, left school at 15 and moved to Portugal when he was signed as a Red Bull Formula One development driver.
“At the time it was a no-brainer but I look back now and think my parents were borderline crazy to just let me hop on a plane like that and go for it,” Brendon tells Sam. A year later he was living in Germany, and since then the highlights of his racing career have included driving for Formula One team Toro Rosso.
That was the fulfilment of a childhood dream, and one of the biggest challenges he’s faced because of the demands of driving so fast.
“You were breaking for the hairpin but your brain was still back at the previous corner,” he recalls.
He’s now best known for endurance racing, and as well as crossing the finish line first on two occasions at Le Mans, has also won the FIA World Endurance Championship twice.
This content was created in partnership with Altherm Window Systems.