By Bull O'Sullivan Architecture
The owners of this home have a long standing relationship with Jubilee Avenue, Devonport. A process started by reinforcing the relationship with the cityscape by siting the home on the southern edge of the site, while offering lines of sight across Jubilee Avenue up to North Head, and beyond into the sun.
The primary shape of the home evokes a poetic vessel while recalling other expressive features such as the angularity of the land, fragility of timber ships, and a critical reference to the Maori church, Rangiatea of Otaki.
Tahuhu of carved Totara talks of the Mother (west) and Father (east). Timber furniture and lights, constructed by the client and architect are a reflection of the importance of a healthy and creative family home.
The exterior of pine weatherboards and window joinery is presented to the English neighbourhood like an obedient dog without its council approved collar. The overall effect, we hope, is an alignment between the family, their neighbours and their home.
Awards
Timber Design Awards 2012
Best of NZ Home Design Series – 2nd Place
Press
Outtakes: Devonport house by Michael O'Sullivan, Home NZ, July 2013
The BOS Practice is driven by the pursuit of quality - a belief that our surroundings directly influence the quality of our lives, whether in the workplace, at home or the public spaces and structures in between. It is not just buildings but urban design that affects our wellbeing. We are concerned with the physical context of a project, sensitive to the culture and climate of their place. We have applied the same priorities from housing to education to furniture.
The BOS philosophy and values that inspire every project are the same regardless of scale or size. This explains why no detail is too small in its importance for the BOS Practice and why the same amount of care and attention will be lavished on the design of a door handle, a tap, or a piece of furniture.
These, after all, are the elements of the environment that we physically touch every day of our lies. The BOS Practice believes the quality of a project is not necessarily related to how much it costs, but rather how wisely the resources of time and money are spent. The setting of standards is more about an attitude of mind in defining goals and honouring commitments. In that sense the most important things have not changed - in particular the philosophy of quality and optimism at the most personal of levels.