Selected Project
Compass Point
Situated on a cliff top at Compass Point in east Auckland, this 450-square-metre house looks west over the Tamaki River, to the city in the distance. The site has a mature Pohutukawa tree on its northern boundary, a coastal reserve on its southern boundary and a street frontage on its eastern boundary. The house is essentially comprised of three boxes, two running north-south at ground level and the third, running east-west, lying across on the top of them, forming a north facing U-shape house. There is a lot of overlapping and cantilevering between the boxes, creating cover, shadows and adding a depth to the building. The house is a combination of painted weatherboards and plaster. The eastern box accommodates a three car garage and wine cellar. The western box accommodates a family room, with open plan kitchen, dinning, living, and a separate formal lounge-dining room, all of which look out over the lap pool, to the river below. On this occasion it was decided to run the kitchen along the northern wall so the shadow of the neighbour’s pohutukawa falls on the kitchens roof, at mid day. The family rooms eastern and western walls are fully glazed. Morning sun comes over the one storied garage and into the family room from the sheltered internal courtyard. Afternoon sun is reflected off the lap pool before entering the family room. A gym, media room, guest bathroom and laundry complete the ground floor plan A see-through steel stair connects the ground floor with the four upstairs bedrooms. The master bedroom juts out over the lap pool, creating shelter to the terrace below. The sizable master bedroom includes an ensuite, walk-in-wardrobe, study bench and sowing room. There is also two ensuites connected to the childrens bedrooms. “This is a family home with views to die for. We’ve really tried to capitalise on that.”
- Category
- 25 Year Award for Enduring Architecture
- Location
- Auckland
