Waterfall house cascades down hill
It took former journalist and politician Vadim Boyko more than seven years to make his dream home happen – with a large chunk of that devoted to shepherding resource and building consents.
A bird’s eye view of the property makes it clear why.
Cascading down a steep slope of bush clad Brooklyn hill, the 950-square-metre house is the architectural equivalent of a waterfall. Ranged over five terraced floors, it also has one of the finest views of the town belt and suburbs.
‘‘It was the beautiful views [that I loved about living there]. Nearly every evening I was sitting on the balcony and looking at this beautiful scenery.’’
Boyko made New Zealand his home in 2008, after travelling from Sochi, Russia, with his mother and son.
Once the family was settled, he decided to invest in a business and came up with the idea of giving Wellington the luxury lodge he thought it wasmissing.
His two-storey home in Brooklyn already had outstanding views. Why not capitalise on those views and build down the hill to create a unique and eye-catching set of suites?
The idea for Zenith, a boutique lodge and spa overlooking the capital, was born.
The decor inside is just as unique and eye-catching as the outside.
Designing the interior himself, Boyko says he spared no expense to create a luxury lodge experience for his guests, predominantly ‘‘very, very good overseas clients’’.
To create the kind of environment he felt his clientele would appreciate, Boyko gathered materials from around the world.
All told, Boyko has invested about $5.5 million in the project.
Sadly for the Boyko family, the time has come to sell the property.
The property’s rateable value is $5.5m, and Sotheby’s agent Ben Hawan says interested buyers should look to begin negotiations around that price point.