With some dedicated downtime on the horizon, the clients wanted to embrace the holiday destination of Karitane with a small, smart space to enjoy intergenerational family time in their little slice of paradise.

The brief chronicled a day at the crib: a morning coffee, lots of reading in the sun and then dinner at sunset, perhaps with fish caught that day. Their space needed to encourage visitors: couches and window seats that double as beds, and acoustics that will stand up to the grandkids’ sleeping schedules.

The resultant design comprises two separate boxes whose offset creates an airy pavilion in-between which flows seamlessly from indoors to outdoors. Fences were specifically vetoed in order to see and commune with neighbours and passers-by. A salty bathroom provides the third entry for beach returnees. Full-height bi-folds open to either the northeast, southwest or both, connecting the sea and hills in any weather.

Built: 2021 | Engineer: McConaughy Consulting | Builder: Copland Building Ltd

Photographs copyright of: Andy Spain