Peka Peka House I, Kapiti Coast
By Herriot Melhuish O'Neill Architects Ltd
This compact, eco-friendly home on Wellington’s Kapiti Coast is made up of three simple boxes, designed in response to views — of Kapiti Island, forestry and farmland — and to climate. Two of the boxes are black-stained cedar, perfectly positioned to maximise views and shelter, and to create a sheltered courtyard. One box is dedicated to living and dining, the other to sleeping. The third box houses the garage and workshop, clad in profiled-polycarbonate — it glows in the dark when lit from within.
The North-facing courtyard is protected from coastal winds, yet still enjoys views right through the living room towards the sea. Timber decking surrounds the house and provides a variety of scenarios to seek shelter depending on the prevailing weather conditions. The house promotes eco values with a combination of PV and solar hot water panels as well as above-code insulation. The clients’ long-term goal is to go off-grid. LED lighting throughout the home, and an exposed, insulated concrete slab as a heat store, help reduce power consumption. Natural ventilation picks up the consistent afternoon sea breezes.
Photos: Jason Mann.
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Peka Peka House I, Kapiti Coast
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Peka Peka House I, Kapiti Coast
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About the
Professional
Herriot Melhuish O’Neill Architects is an NZIA award-winning practice with studios in Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Tauranga. Established in 1997, our rich portfolio of commercial and residential work demonstrates a strong commitment to creating beautifully-crafted architecture that enhances the lives of those who experience our buildings – both inside and out.
We believe that enduring architecture is a delicate balance of factors – our clients’ needs and aspirations, our professional training and expertise, the history and nature of the site – but also intuition and commonsense. Every design decision, from materials to how the building complements the landscape, matters to us and adds to the experiential qualities of our projects.
Directors Max Herriot and John Melhuish in Wellington, Duval O'Neill in Christchurch and Matt Pearson in Auckland are committed to the best architectural design practices. HMOA Associate and registered architect Jenny Duck runs the Tauranga studio.
As well as new homes and house renovations, we have experience in the education, recreation, heritage, health and hospitality sectors, office interiors, multi-unit developments, civil projects and master-planning.