Back House is just that, a home at the back of another home, a minor dwelling for a young family to enjoy.
This home was designed to enhance the owners quality of life and to make the most of a small sunny spot in the rear garden. It’s compact, efficient and delightfully detailed with everything a home needs, all within a small 64sqm footprint.
The form-making is intentionally kept very simple. Rectilinear planning places service spaces and sleeping areas along the hallway. The plan then narrows to the north to a single-width space that stacks kitchen, dining and living areas end on end. The roof from here reaches up to the north, with clerestory glazing allowing morning, north midday, then afternoon sun to enter the living spaces.
Prefabricated cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels were used as the construction method, reducing contractor travel and site time. Forming the floor, walls and roof structure, the CLT has been left exposed to the interior and finished with oil to express the warmth and beauty of the timber. Externally wrapped in a continuous blanket of PIR insulation, Siberian Larch cladding and a Colorsteel roof, ensures this home is snug throughout the seasons.
This is a small home with a big heart that will be enjoyed as its young family grows.
Photography © Ross Keane
NZIA Local Award Winner 2021 – Small Project Architecture
Green Home of the Year 2024
Back House
“A true collaboration between the architect, client and builders, this 65-square-metre west Auckland house celebrates small living at its finest. The architects’ use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) in the floors, walls and ceilings bring structure and interior seamlessly together, cleverly exploiting the inherent richness in the CLT panels’ materiality. Each space is masterfully scaled so that despite its demure size, this two-bedroom dwelling feels perfectly comfortable for everyday living.”
NZIA Awards Jury Citation
“Not all green design requires certification schemes, nor the purchase of expensive equipment and materials from the other side of the world. Sometimes, all that is required is a return to the fundamentals of architecture: careful consideration of orientation, and strategic placement of openings to ensure optimal solar gain and passive ventilation. With its intelligent timber construction, no demolishing of an existing house to build this one, and the understanding that living in a tiny space inherently has less embodied carbon, this simple, small project with strong architectural fundamentals exemplifies efficiency without compromising on elegance or utility.”
Green Home of the Year Winner - Jury Citation