This is a new home for a professional couple moving into retirement. High priority has been given to accessibility and live-ability within the house and to its relationship with the developing gardens.
The clients have a long history with the property, having owned the land and lived and worked on the adjacent site for the past 25+ years. They are avid gardeners and the site had formed part of the extensive gardens they have tended over the last quarter century. The design response respects this heritage and conceptually plays with the tensions of solid and void, arranged beneath a sheltering draped roof.
Integrating principles of sustainability and accessibility, the home aims to allow the clients to mitigate health challenges and maintain their independence and a high quality of life for as long as possible.
Two stained cedar clad building blocks defining public (kitchen, dining, living spaces) & private (bedrooms & service spaces) are linked by a voluminous ‘Garden Room’. Lining treatments emphasise the ambiguity of this indoor-outdoor space and connections to the garden and landscape.
The cedar lined roof plane is “draped” over the whole, unifying the timber blocks, garden room and terrace spaces.
Photography © Simon Wilson
2022 Master Builders Regional Supreme Award
2022 Master Builders Craftsmanship Award
2022 Master Builders Lifestyle Award
NZIA Auckland Architecture Award Winner - 2023 - Housing
Trends International Design Awards - 2023
Tida New Zealand Architect-Designed Kitchen - Kitchen of the Year 2023.
Tida New Zealand Architect Bathroom - Winner 2023.
Garden House
"This home is truly sustainable, well insulated floors, ceilings, and walls are supplemented by thermally broken double-glazed windows. It is clear there was a special effort made to use sustainable materials and eliminate waste on-site.
"The home has clearly been built by true craftsmen. The expertly fitted cedar cladding is particularly impressive, and the open plan living areas link seamlessly to the outside world through the use of large windows and sliding doors. This home is built to an exceptional standard inside and out and is a house the builder can be proud of."
Master Builders Awards Jury