This is my first project in New Plymouth
however growing up in Wanganui which is about two hours down the coastline
gave me a really natural understanding of the rugged west coast environment.
Coming to the site for the first time with the clients it was evident what was so important to
them to capture within the architecture; the expansive views to the ocean and some of the
really special frame views to New Plymouth landmarks like Mount Taranaki and Taratutu.
The house sits boldly yet respectfully amongst what is a modest coastal vernacular.
I wanted to anchor the house on the site and using
board form precast panels on the lower level to provide that sense of permanence and place
yet reduce the sort of overall mass of the home by putting a lightweight timber structure on top and
and pushing and pulling the forms until it had a really beautiful balance.
The decision was made to have two living areas with the lower level upon arrival
greeting you with the relaxed lounge which flows directly out onto the pool area.
It's an easy transition out onto the deck, you can sit in the conversation pit,
use the barbecue, the pool; very much a resort style entertaining area.
With the expense of decking downstairs I felt the upper level
didn't require a deck so in using full height joinery that's able to be stacked right back
you have a sense of being on a covered deck when upstairs in the kitchen dining and living area.
My overall design aesthetic is one where I try to create simple and calming spaces and
providing a lot of storage and cabinetry is a huge part of how we achieve that.
Evelyn and I collaborated to detail and execute multiple areas of joinery within the home.
Beyond the kitchen there is an extensive amount of joinery throughout the home
including the laundry and built-in furniture downstairs.
While the exterior of the home has quite a strong,
bold and slightly masculine form, it was really important to me to make sure that the interior
has provided a sense of softness and homeliness and warmth so we've layered a range of materials
to achieve this with curtains, soft furnishings, timbers and a refined palette.
One of the biggest features of this house is the rich cabinetry used throughout it,
I think key part of the design brief was to hide away a lot of
the day-to-day knick-knacks of the house so there's walls of cabinetry and a lot of the rooms
including the downstairs entertainment unit where our CoolDrawer's seamlessly integrated into that.
The architectural brief for the kitchen was to ensure that it
read as furniture or cabinetry within the space, so the use of integrated appliances
in the minimal aesthetic of the black ovens with an obvious choice.
The kitchen was designed to blend seamlessly into the open plan living area
and is a great example of the benefits of integration.
The clients really enjoy cooking and entertaining so the upstairs space is
getting a lot of use for the more kind of formal dinner parties winter and there's a fantastic
interaction between the kitchen space and the dining area so whoever's cooking is very much
still part of the conversation and still involved in what's going on.