By Alignworks
The site is situated in the beachside township of Whangapoua on the Coromandel peninsula.
The brief was to reconfigure two titles and relocate the existing home on the property, in order to creating a new site for a compact family beach home.
A certain elevation was required for the new home to maintain views to the ocean.
The floating form was conceived as a series of three repeating forms of naturally weathering materials which were constructed by the assembly of prefabricated panels over a block boatshed and steel subfloor framing.
The three small forms enable the home to blend with the neighbours when viewed from the local beach store, while the street elevation presents the must have oversized boatshed. This base is softened by being set back into the land, with a meandering entry path to the house nestling up to the retained mature Eucalyptus tree.
A rich and warmly finished plywood interior, as the escape from the city, contrasts the more utilitarian exterior of exposed structure and utilities.
The prefabrication construction process was employed to have greater certainty around budget, quality and to eliminate repeated long distance travel to monitor progress. Construction commenced in August and the clients were in for Christmas.
A master bedroom wing is separated from the guest rooms by a central living zone. Northern and western decks to allow the outdoors to be enjoyed regardless of the prevailing wind.
Our practice is born from a family of architects and was first established in Auckland over 20 years ago by Allan Lowe with a tradition for a wide variety of project types. For the last 10 years the practice has been managed by Rob and Jennie Aerts after their time practicing in San Francisco. As the firm has developed so to have the premises: from Three Kings to Parnell and now to the current location in the heart of Epsom.
We are a skilled and passionate design practice committed to uncovering the unique and specific story of each project.
Whatever the project, we believe delivering high quality architecture with high quality customer service. Our approach to all projects, regardless of scale or budget, is to firstly understand the vision of the client, and then deliver the outcome desired in a practical, achievable and lasting manner. We excel at solving difficult problems with constant attention to light, space and proportion.