This home is located high on a hill with expansive views west from the Manukau Heads through to the Gulf Islands and the Coromandel to the east. A home for a farmer, a landscape gardener and their adult family. The design brief called for a relatively efficient 3 bedroom home to accommodate family life and flexible occupation of the adult children in rural south-eastern Auckland.
Tricky site geology allowed a predetermined 20x20m building platform (400m2). A conscious decision to resist the normal response of spreading out across the landscape and to allow the building platform to remain a constraint, meant "thinking inside the box”. This led to a process of subtraction, of cutting away space not required. The home is solid to the south and south-west with a courtyard in the middle and is cutaway to the north-east corner. It turns it’s back to the road front and the coldest wind, opening to the sun and view, all while remaining within the 20x20m square.
The elevated site is subject to severe weather from every direction. Rural farm buildings have inspired a collection of ‘lean-to’ like forms gathered around the courtyard, each creating a silhouette against the skyline. Links to the rural vernacular are incorporated with the use of profiled metal for the primary cladding. Like a Driza Bone rain coat the cladding provides a protective coat on the exposed site and fits snuggly over and around the cold sides of the building. The cladding loosens a bit to the warmer north facade, with projecting eaves and siberian larch siding to add a layer of softness and warmth. Larch continues inside the living spaces to bring the warmth in. The exterior colour palette is deliberately grey and subdued to blend building and sky.
A solid castle like landscape wall closes the road edge of the square form, screening off courtyards, service spaces and entries. The wall adds a layer of mystery of what lies beyond. A single central living space opens to a sheltered landscaped courtyard to the east and a covered outdoor space to the west. This living space also forms the connection between the separate bedroom zones.
A combination of time and the client's passion for landscape will further embed the built form into the site, transforming the house high on a hill into a home that is completely of the hill.
Photography © Simon Devitt
2021 NZIA Local Award Winner - Housing
NZ ColorSteel Building of the Year Finalist - 2019
Best Awards Finalist - 2020 - Residential Architecture
Trends International Design Awards Winner - 2020 - NZ Architect Designed Bathroom
Trends International Design Awards Finalist - 2020 - NZ Architect Designed Home
Courtyard House
“High on a hill in rural south Auckland, this home celebrates retreat and expansion. The house encloses itself from the cold wind (and the street) with a long block wall that cleverly conceals the inside of the home and fortifies the elevation. Upon entry, the plan softens and expands outwards to the view, with floor levels also following the lay of the land. Chiselled roof forms are arranged around the gardens and courtyards that provide a variety of places to relax. Timber tones and crafty details combined with a vibrant landscape create a warm and layered home.”
NZIA Awards Jury Citation