- The six-bedroom mansion in Strowan, Christchurch, designed by Sir Ian Athfield, features a private cinema and underground pub.
- Built by Richard and Bridget Preston, the home includes a candy bar, a 12-seat cinema, and advanced earthquake-proof engineering.
- The property is expected to sell for more than its $6.48m RV.
It was designed by the late Sir Ian Athfield, has its own candy bar, private cinema and underground pub and is expected to fetch well north of its $6.48 million RV when it sells next month.
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The six-bedroom mansion at 148 Glandovey Road, in Strowan, Christchurch, is the dream-come-true home of builder Richard Preston and his wife, Bridget.
They started planning their “ultimate” family home in 2012, before their first child arrived, and got the final code of compliance in 2025.
The Prestons had another build underway in Jacks Point, in Queenstown, when they met Sir Ian. They were in awe of his work and asked him to plan their next home.
Vendor Richard Preston says the house was built to be the last house standing — with cutting-edge earthquake engineering. Photo / Supplied
Inside the home is a private cinema serviced by a candy bar with slushies and movie treats. Photo / Supplied
The underground bar is one of Preston’s favourite spots. Photo / Supplied
They had just bought a 1084sqm blank section in the city and “were just reaching for the sky”.
“At that time, we didn’t have kids, so we were thinking, ‘What would the kids like?’,” Richard told OneRoof.
The home is believed to have been one of Sir Ian’s last residential designs, because he died not long after the plans were completed.
Construction began in earnest in 2018, after Richard’s attempts to kickstart the project some years earlier stumbled. The owner of RPN Homes had run into drainage problems affecting the planned underground bar and cellar.
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“We sort of blew budgets. So, after that, we parked the development and just let it sit there for a couple of years.”
Once work restarted, the project came together, and the Prestons moved in three years later.
The result was a six-bedroom, four-bathroom home with three lounges (including one for kids and one for adults), a candy bar filled with ice cream, candy floss, slushies and arcade game machines, a 12-seat Hoyts-style cinema, an underground bar and a self-contained studio for the nanny.
Richard said the house had been the perfect family home for them and their three children.
He raved about the interior design, which was completed by Jodi Elliott, from Trenzseater.
“It does make it very unique that we have a Hoyts cinema in our own house. The kids love it and whatnot, so we are lucky in that regard,” he said.
The property has an RV of over $6m but is expected to sell for much, much more. Photo / Supplied
The interiors are the work of Jodi Elliott, from Trenzseater. Photo / Supplied
“We wanted that cinema feel to it – like you are going to the movies.” That extends to the two side entrances to the cinema from the candy bar.
Richard said he would miss his underground bar the most now that he has decided to sell. The spot had been a great hangout for him and his friends.
The house also has some trademark Sir Ian Athfield elements, such as the addition of sticky-out “wings” on the western and southern sides of the house, but Richard said his main focus on the project had been the structural engineering.
The Christchurch earthquakes had ravaged the city just a few years before the couple bought the section, and Richard was determined to go above and beyond the building standards to ensure the home would withstand anything that was thrown at it.
Richard believes his house is the first to use adapter base isolators, which are more commonly used in commercial builds. Sir Ian also used screw-pile foundations and steel portal construction. “It’s a commercial foundation, and it will soften the blow in an earthquake,” Richard said.
“I just wanted the family home to be the most earthquake-proof house possible for my kids. It was designed to be the last house standing in Christchurch if there was ever an event again.”
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Karena Lines has been tasked with selling the property, and calls it an “Athfield original, engineered to outlast”.
Richard said he was expecting a sale price north of its RV of $6.48m. “If you come through the house, people can see there’s been money well spent. It’s well above RV.”
- 148 Glandovey Road, in Strowan, Christchurch, is for sale, deadline closing July 15
