Busy professional Auckland couple, Karen and Steph, were looking to develop the vacant street front portion of their sloping site in One Tree Hill, to be on-sold at completion. Due to their respective work commitments, they were looking for a complete design and build solution.

The required dwelling was to be a modern inner city home appealing to a small family, a professional or retired couple. The finish to be of a high level and tailored to meet market expectations in the area.

With Steph and Karen having completed several projects prior, they expertly made selections and decisions as and when required, which allowed the project to flow smoothly and the resulting modern cantilevered cedar-clad dwelling over three levels offers modern inner-city living.

Key challenges with the design included the south-facing street frontage and the very small sloping site (just 260m2 of actual land to work with).

Providing a spacious layout (internally and externally) while also maintaining views from and privacy between the existing houses on the site also required a slick design solution.

A very large cut into the slope, involving significant excavation, was required in order to nestle the building into the site while satisfying council and neighbour height requirements. Council concerns over access and vehicle manoeuvring had to be negotiated and resolved. There were also a myriad of site services to be relocated and reconnected.

With design and build working closely together, we worked through the issues with Karen and Steph and found effective solutions to each issue, resulting in a stylish, modern home which was easily on-sold to a happy owner.

DESIGN/PLANNING: 12 Months
CONSTRUCTION: 8 Months