Russell

Like most projects this one had its fair share of challenges, most obviously the fact the clients lived in Australia, were working with Auckland-based DAA, and building in the Bay of Islands. Planned trips to NZ to meet were scheduled and then cancelled, and a video conference was held in November 2019, what was to become the first of many and unbelievably the norm only several months later for the entire country. With the arrival of Covid the entirety of the planning/design stage and a significant portion of the build was done on the client’s behalf remotely, requiring a special set of skills for all parties.
The architect visited the site solo in August of 2019 and with a brief in hand made a start on the initial design, which was presented and then revised online, with a face to face meeting scheduled in March 2020 cancelled due to Covid restrictions. From then on the remainder of the design revisions and costings were at the mercy of technology. Surprisingly a reasonably smooth ride considering the situation. And an interesting story to tell post Covid and completion.
The clients wanted to build a new house ideally on top of the existing ground floor slab and to utilise materials such as wood, stone, concrete and metal within a fairly muted palette, with the surrounding flora and fauna to take centre stage. The idea was to maximise the amazing views of the water to the south and towards Russell, whilst blocking the house in front and ensuring views from both levels. Easy care materials were requested as was sustainability. House position and orientation were carefully thought out to ensure good natural cross ventilation and even in an environment of plentiful sun and sea spray, the materials chosen should be able to handle the conditions.
Further to the brief was a request for spaces that flowed into one another, a good stud height, wall space for hanging art, timber sarked ceilings and walls of windows to catch and frame the views.
The house is designed over two levels with a garage, entry and guest wing plus study space on the ground floor. Upstairs the main bedroom is positioned above the garage with a wall of glass overlooking the view. Another wall of glass in the main living/kitchen/dining area further opens the house up to the view with a window seat running the length. A tricky aspect of the design was the fact the view is to the south but we wanted to incorporate as much sun into the build from the north as possible.

The house opens on the north and west sides to a deck that wraps around the corner and a sheltered garden. The glass sliding doors stack all the way back blurring the line between inside and out and ensuring the landscape is very much part of the whole design.

Although featuring a reduced material palette the selected materials result in a warm and rich result.