A gabled tribute to rural forms and the beauty of hand-crafted timber construction.
A gabled tribute to rural forms and the beauty of hand-crafted timber construction.
The composition of gabled forms, organised around a central boardwalk, reveals a collection of outdoor spaces that respond to the changing position of the sun.
The immersive interior is a layered interplay of joints and grains, raw and delicate, trusses and bolts –and rich views out into the light.
Awards
Habitus House Of The Year - Selected as one of 25 innovative residential designs from all over the Indo-Pacific
NZIA National Architecture Award - Shortlisted
NZIA Auckland Architecture Award - Housing category
New Zealand Wood Resene Timber Design Awards - Winner Residential Architectural Excellence
New Zealand Wood Resene Timber Design Awards - Highly Commended for the Resene Overall Supreme Award
New Zealand Wood Resene Timber Design Awards - Highly Commended for the Interior Innovation Award
Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Design Award - Bronze Award in the Residential Category
HOME Magazine Home of the Year Award - Shortlisted
This beautifully crafted dwelling sits on a site alongside an estuarine tendril of Omaha River. It consists of three gabled volumes – a three-part play, if you’ll forgive some literary pretension, that consists of two separate wings, running north to south, connected by a boardwalk running east to west, to the guest wing.
The home’s exterior references the gabled barn form of the rural vernacular – perhaps even a collection of rural out houses – however the architectural language has been abstracted and refined into a memorable and distinctive domestic setting. And, with the purposeful positioning of outdoor spaces in between the volumes, there are plenty of opportunities to follow the movement of the sun throughout the day.
The exterior cladding, interior lining and exposed elements area tectonic celebration of raw and weathering timber, all assembled in a demonstration of honesty of construction and materials – all joints and grains are exposed, and every detail, from sills to doors, windows to trusses, regarded as a chance to dwell on detail and emphasise the sense of the handcrafted, bespoke quality.
