//September 2009
//Architecture
Perched high on a dramatic cliff-top site overlooking a small village harbour, this stunning family home is a beautiful example of vernacular New Zealand architecture and a testament to the wonderful relationship between architect and client. We take a closer look at the process behind the design which recently won the residential category in the New Zealand Institute of Architects 2009 awards, and hear from the architect responsible for its realisation.
The clients – a couple with two young children – bought the site in 2002 and after carrying out some basic renovations to the existing cottage, lived there for a period to see if the move would suit their family. Set in a stunning area of coastline overlooking Leigh harbour at the northernmost extent of the Hauraki Gulf, the old cottage which occupied the site was once home to the Leigh harbour master and the siting and arrangement of the existing cottage strongly influenced their thoughts about their new home.
Working closely together, the architect and clients began to form ideas and gather examples of houses they loved. “We imagined the house as another weathered strata of the cliff – shifting up out of the cliff,” says project architect Sharon Jansen, who works for Wellington-based architecture firm Tennant + Brown Architects. “I showed them Alvar Aalto's Maison Carre as a striking form in the landscape, with its sensuous rich interiors filled with the stuff of life – objects, things, furniture.”
The clients liked this idea of the house being a marker at the head of the harbour – sculptural with strong, simple forms – but were also keen to maintain the appealing privacy of the site, accessed via a private approach through the surrounding trees and only revealed once virtually upon it. They sought the quality of “inscrutable” - not fully revealing itself in one glance or moment, a process of unfolding or gradual unveiling of the spaces within and the dramatic views beyond. Interested in a modern interpretation of local vernacular architecture, they began discussing the simple shapes of rural sheds with their gable or monopitch roofs and their materiality of tin and wood.
The final product looks far from a rural shed but Jansen describes it as “an elegant barn.” Designed as two pavilions separated by a glass-roofed wintergarden, the new house represents everything the clients desired. The living pavilion – containing the kitchen, family dining, fire room and living / music room – sits to the cliff side and the more private sleeping pavilion rises behind, sliding up onto the upper natural platform of the site. The wintergarden – a central space considered neither completely indoors nor completely outdoors – is framed by large barn doors and acts as the main entry and formal dining room, a room for parties or teaching yoga, and the heart of the house.
Striving for an “economical beauty”, a restricted palette of beautiful materials was chosen. “We liked the idea of the skin of the building becoming a more living thing and responding to the nature of the site by allowing aging and weathering”. Therefore the weathered Lawson's Cypress cladding merges with the silver grey tones of the surrounding trees, and the eventual rusting of the steel will take on a similar tone to the grey reds of the cliff face. Windows have been subtly placed with particular views in mind – the entrance to the living pavilion reveals the view to Little Barrier Island, the kitchen is oriented toward the opposite side of the harbour and the large window in the living room frames the Morton Bay Fig tree outside.
The interior of the house displays the same human touch and quality of finish evident from the outside – taking inspiration from Alvar Alto's work, yet creating spaces for the clients that are characteristically their own. The “wonderful narrative between the architect, client, furniture maker and landscape architect” can be seen in every detail from the beautifully crafted furniture pieces by local designer Gary Willis to the carefully thought-out fencing and pivot gate for the client's dog.
This finely wrought house truly is a testament to the wonderful collaboration between architect and client but, having been friends for many years, how did the friendship fare over the course of the project? “I am happy to say that they are still extremely good friends of mine – which is a good place to finish”.
//September 2009
//The Cut
This, the latest two wheeled creation invented for the commuter market, is a lightweight ‘on demand’ electric and pedal powered bike made from carbon fibre. According to Richard Thorpe (GoCycles founder) the two wheeled market is expected to have a double digit growth in the next decade “as people seek out greener and healthier alternatives”. Plus with government schemes encouraging companies to offer greener travel alternatives for their employees getting on your bike couldn’t be easier... not that we need encouraging with a bike that looks this good.
//September 2009
//Architecture
This is an image of the Shard, a mixed-use tower at London Bridge in London, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Construction work has started on the 306 metre-high building, which will be adjacent to London Bridge station. The 72-storey building contains offices, apartments, a hotel and spa, retail and restaurants and is topped by a 15-storey public viewing gallery. The building is essentially a vertical city and in the future most of us will live in similar buildings.
The reason I say this is because two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions that each of us produce comes from the way we run our homes and our personal transport. However due to the fact that Londoner’s have smaller homes to heat and use their cars less, their carbon footprint is almost half that of the average UK citizen. While residents in rural Yorkshire and the Humber have the highest carbon footprints in the country. People who live in leafy, low-density suburbs leave a significantly deeper carbon footprint than those who live in high-density city centres. Cities need to become places where walking and cycling become the main forms of transport and this can only happen if we build up rather than out. Manhattan is one of the greenest places to live in the US, London needs to follow its example and become a city of towers.
Even if we chose to do nothing about reducing our carbon footprints there is one other factor that will force us to stop building out and instead build up. The population of the UK, according to government statisticians, is set to rise to 90 million by the middle of the century. Skyscrapers are the solution if we want to preserve our remaining open countryside. Limiting the height or growth of them in London causes huge environmental damage. Building more apartments in the city will not only make the city more affordable; it will also reduce global warming. Living in the country is not the right way to care for the Earth. The best thing that you can do for the planet is to move to a city centre skyscraper.
HAMISH HERFORD
//September 2009
//Travel
Forget hippie hideaways, outdoor toilets and tie-dye clad guests – today eco-hotels tend to be even more modern than their non-“green” peers. Check out these hotels offering ecoluxurious experiences at their best. Enjoy your holidays in guiltless bliss knowing your ecological footprint is kept to a minimum.
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