Pakiri Point Beach House winds calmly across an extensive, panoramic ridgeline several hundred metres above the Pacific Ocean. Created as a quiet retreat for an extended Auckland family, the six bedroom, eight-bathroom home has an exterior of natural stone walls, cedar weatherboard cladding, copper trim detailing and Eurotray profiled metal roofing, and feels – and looks – as permanent as the pyramids. Its 800 sq m comprises four distinct wings laid out across the daily sun cycle: a three-suite guest wing to the east, a private family wing to the west and a utility wing to the south are connected to a central, two-level communal living, dining and kitchen wing with a night room, day room, library and conservatory with wine cellar below that is visable through the glass floor of the entrance foyer.

The overall configuration merges into the contours of the surrounding land and disperses winds in and around the general building mass. Extensive glazed wall sections to the north look to the Pacific and admit abundant natural light. A hard-wearing, commercial-style kitchen designed to accommodate several cooks simultaneously but remain in sympathy with its domestic environment has double island benches, separate wash-up room, huge walk-through pantry and a rear wall dedicated to hot cooking.