Brick House
Onehunga
New Build
Completed: 2019
Project Description:
The brief was simple: to create a light-filled family home that connected to the garden outside. Being for the architect’s own family, there was also an intention to experiment in moments.
The house form is an asymmetric gable, in plan made up of two blocks: to the west there is a garage, with bedrooms above, and to the east the open plan living, dining and kitchen, with circulation and entry in the interstitial space. This transition is expressed with cranked brick walls, and amplified by a black cedar-clad soffit which creates a strong angular geometry.
In contrast to the exterior, the interior is softer, with circular and arched motifs repeating in both plan (stairs, outdoor seating) and section (ceiling transitions) as well as the cabinetry items (the kitchen island). Split levels and gradients of ceiling levels more clearly delineate space, creating differentiated spatial environments within the one open plan area.
The house was designed as part of a three-site subdivision. Sayes Studio also designed the neighbouring house adjacent, so the two sites are – while distinct in form and response –considered together, particularly in terms of creating porous boundaries between the properties in the landscaping.
The site slopes away from the northern boundary, and rather than try to build up the site to even out the slope, the design embraces hunkering into this hollow and uses the site’s grade to create an outdoor courtyard, which is given structure with a geometric brick retaining wall/seat.
The orientation of the house was carefully considered for light, warmth, and ventilation. The tent-like structure of the main space, with a bank of four sets of French doors, allows the entire north face of the living space to open up, and with the windows to the south has been designed around ensuring good cross breezes. Designed using sun diagrams, limited windows to the west and the large soffit over the north-facing deck mitigate unnecessary solar gain in summer. The height of the soffit allows sun deep into the living space in winter when the warmth and light are needed.
Awards:
NZIA New Zealand Architecture Awards 2023 Winner
This is an architecturally ambitious house, which delivers generous and delightful spaces on a very tight budget for its occupants. The design responds skilfully to the constraints and opportunities on the site, with the key formal move to create two distinct zones: a lofty living space opening to a sunny outdoor area, and bedrooms above the entry and garage. This house proves that prosaic, cost-effective materials — including brick and gib most often seen in spec houses — can lead to a delightful outcome. The round chrome kitchen island, and curving stair handrail fabricated of plumbing pipe, deserve special mention as surprising, well-considered design solutions. As one of three (or maybe even four) houses that will eventually be built on this site, Brick House serves as an example of how successful residential density can be achieved in our cities of the future.
NZIA Auckland Architecture Awards 2023 Winner
Jury Citation: Completed as the second instalment in an eventual trio of homes, this project is a meditation on restraint and simplicity. Designed by an architect for his family, the modest home is compelling in plan, section, volume and attitude, contributing a great deal to the ongoing debate around housing affordability in New Zealand. Generous living areas open to a peaceful external terrace that extends the internal volumes. Bedrooms are tucked away above the main living areas, clearly demarcating public and private zones. The external character is a result of simple, robust materials overlayed to subtle shifts in form and planar orientation.
Interior Awards 2023 Finalist (Residental Kitchen)
Publications:
Here #14
Photography @ David Straight
