Timber Twin Units
By Gary Todd Architecture
The client sought 2 residential units of 3 bedrooms and office plus open plan indoor -outdoor living with flexibility for family or rental accommodation. Scandinavian influence of timber with black and white colours was sought. The small site zoned TC3 land in St Albans required special engineering design of foundations and building structure. A residence removed after the 2011 earthquake allowed site subdivision by resource consent. Regulations required a house floor level 700mm above road level as the site was within a flood hazard zone with a water table near ground level.
Creative Solution & Design Features
The units were designed to be two storied to allow upper levels to look across single storey neighbouring houses to view St Albans Park and be centrally located on the site as linear extensions of each other within recession height planes, so they did not affect nearby properties.
To overcome problems with TC3 land, foundations were set out on a grid of driven timber piles and concrete tie beams supporting steel portal frames that define the structure of the building and layout of carport and open plan living to lower level. The upper level bedrooms, bathrooms and office are defined by a cedar rectangular box hovering above the lower level carport exposed steel frame and living area with extensive full height glazing, black alucabond wall cladding and aluminium joinery. Both units consist of 2 compact rectangular lower and upper plans to minimise site footprints. The laundry is concealed under a stair adjacent the kitchen and below a bathroom to concentrate services and household functions.
The kitchen is part of the open plan dining and living space. Large bi-parting sliding doors open to connect indoor living to sheltered and private outdoor living with level entry timber flooring flush to hardwood decking. The upper level of each unit caters for a family option with a bedroom with ensuite and separate bathroom catering for two bedrooms, office and lower level living.
Double Carports were designed to allow on site manoeuvring with service shed and extensive planting providing privacy between the outdoor areas of front and rear unit. Grey chip gravel, concrete pavers, lawn and gardens are a permeable solution to the high water table that grounds and softens the design. The materiality of exterior durable and low maintenance materials, finishes and colours are carried through to interiors.
Black steel work and aluminium joinery with timber cladding and decking are extended to the interior by the selection of black Caesarstone bench tops and negative detailing to perimeter and toe board of the natural tawa timber joinery unit. Interiors are created to feel light and spacious with the use of Resene black-white painted walls and ceilings, tawa joinery and flooring with push to open and soft close hardware on drawer and door fronts to create minimalist Scandinavian detailing.
PV panels on the roof provide self-sustainable electrical energy. Star rated appliances, low water flow plumbing fittings and Resene eco non-toxic paint finishes and FSC certified timber are sustainability features of these units that the client and designers admire.
Project details
Completion: 2018
Location: Christchurch
Professionals used in
Timber Twin Units
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Gary Todd Architecture
About the
Professional
For us, architecture is about creating special places in context with their natural and built environment for the enjoyment of people who live in them, work in them, or experience them. Every project, regardless of scale, we consider is a unique opportunity to create something amazing for our client, community and society.
Our architectural practice is humble however operates with confidence because we are experienced in a variety of building types and styles with a proven track record. Our projects vary from Otago to Central Otago, Southland and Canterbury and wider afield than New Zealand to Australia, Fiji and France.
Every project is unique and emerges out of a specific client brief, budget and site that we may challenge and offer options if we consider there is a need to think deeper before proceeding further. These considerations inform the design and build process where our experience on projects to create that point of difference is more likely to be achieved with our valued professional guidance and expertise assisting you as with our many prior clients.
We have been collaborating with our clients, consultants, contractors and councils to provide excellence by offering our trusted experience, innovation and professional guidance to all aspects of a project with vision, planning, documentation, contracts, construction, interior fit out, landscaping and project management from concept to completion as a full project approach under sole leadership to get the best outcome.
We know that each project brings different client requirements and that our response can be to guide that project through a collaborative process to success, whether it is small or large, simple or complex with us as your design lead. The end result is to create inspirational spaces with architecture that could meet and exceed the client and public expectation and be fully in context with the natural and built environment.
Our practice is green minded and actively incorporates innovative sustainable design and construction with an environmental awareness that can contribute to our future. We support ethical and sustainable practices. We believe our architecture can reflect who our clients are and their aspirations.
With the experience of Gary leading the team, we specialise mainly in new or altered residential or commercial projects. We have been involved in over 1000 building projects over more than 25 years and have been acknowledged by over 90 New Zealand Architectural Design Awards in the process which is testament to the quality that you can expect given to each project.
- Year founded1993
- ArchiPro Member since2017
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