Description:

This House is located on a rural site on Waiheke Island, overlooking Anzac Bay and a mangrove swamp. The owners have lived here for many years, in a barn, with the intention of building a permanent home. There is a long, historical connection with the site.
First and foremost, their brief called for a house that resembled, in some way, a bird taking flight. The owners wanted two bedrooms, one with an outlook to the two magnificent Pohutukawa on the site, the other with a water view. The living space to have both, and sun. All with direct access to the meadow. It was important they could step out from any room, directly onto the meadow. A mudroom separate to the entry was also required.
We located the building site to the west of the Pohutukawa to achieve the desired views.
The building form was not initially generated by the bird taking flight narrative, rather, the discovery of a seed pod from the Pohutukawa trees, found lying on the ground. The seed pod has an outer casing. This leaf like casing opens out to reveal a pod inside. When open, the outer casing creates a diagram like a compass, with points, facing north, south, east and west. An ideal scenario for this house. Living to the north, a bedroom in each east and west point, and the mudroom to the south. The floor plan was developed directly from this, and we carried the folding/opening out concept through into the roof form, which became the key uniting element for the house, and resembles, in a way, a bird taking flight.
The band sawn cedar soffit, with its folding form, has a step pattern in the panelling, influenced by the overlapping feathers on a bird’s chest.
Living spaces and bedrooms have northerly aspects. These are all cross ventilated. All serviced are located to the south, with minimal glazing.
The house is off grid. It is 100% solar powered, collects its own water and processes its own wastewater on site.