Houses Revisited: Karekare House | Architecture Now

When Deanna and Marcel first noticed this web site, they have been smitten. The potential was monumental. Unfold over a few titles with a number of giant pohutukawa bushes, Karekare Home in Raumati is each secluded and sheltered, but with beautiful views out to sea. Daylight pours in, filtered via the bushes.

The present drained, previous weatherboard cottage wanted a radical transformation. Cecile Bonnifait from Bonnifait + Giesen Atelierworkshop Architects assures me that “the cottage nonetheless exists beneath right here someplace” nevertheless it feels crisp and new. “For us, the selection to work round/throughout the shell of the present cottage was a option to cherish and redevelop the present ‘patrimoine’ or heritage of the location — right here represented by the cottage, the pool and the superb forest backyard that had been created by the earlier proprietor.”

This can be a masterful transformation by the architects and builder Invoice Duncan: strikingly fashionable and crammed with mild and wealthy, pure colors. Exterior, by the entrance door, a stunning, vibrant Jan van Huysum art work prepares you; that is no odd home. A naked concrete-block outdoors wall sits comfortably subsequent to mill-finished aluminium cladding.

Rimu studs from the previous residence have been fastidiously recycled and crafted into a brand new entrance door. The place the previous lean-to was beforehand located, a gallery of artwork welcomes you — with a large skylight watching over the tapestry of artworks inside. The wealthy, crimson grain of the kwila staircase slices upwards, contrasting with the demure poplar ply partitions of the entry gallery. 

The previous home is subsumed by newness and lightweight; greater than an alteration, it is a rebirth! The central gable roof of the unique cottage now has two wings the place as soon as it had only one. The lounge has been opened proper as much as maximise the expansive views. New decks encompass and wrap across the refurbished outside pool and a brand new two-storeyed, cedar-clad tower wing, which has arisen within the yard.

The kinds are all fastidiously completed with a projecting macrocarpa timber rainscreen, subtly backlit at night time to create a heat, oblique glow. Roofs clad in corrugated aluminium have matching shiny aluminium flashings and silver anodised window joinery. This retains the palette of supplies easy and contemporary, like a chunk of luxurious French cooking: simply the perfect crisp, uncooked elements and a limited-but-luxurious number of finishes.

The affect of the purchasers comes via strongly, particularly with Deanna’s love of the color blue — seen in numerous shades throughout the rest room’s mosaic wall tiles, the kitchen cabinets and, after all, the ocean and sky outdoors.

With a mission like this, the pure components are an enormous affect — viewshafts fastidiously encapsulate the views and the home is totally clear from sure vantages. A ripe-orange Pyroclassic fire sits pleasure of place in the lounge, heating the home effortlessly. Lighting is smooth and oblique, courtesy of modern, minimal LED strips.

The primary bed room is upstairs within the tower and appears down over the home and out to sea. Finishes listed below are fastidiously refined: simply poplar plywood, frosted, glazed clerestory home windows to the blue rest room behind, and a characteristically crafty bedhead/storage unit, making certain that the bed room concentrates on the bushes and the sky.

Regardless of the busy sinews of the close by bushes, the house exudes a sense of calm and peacefulness: the right relaxation. And, better of all, it accommodates very joyful residents.

Materials Selector

Architect William Giesen explains how the supplies chosen reply to the atmosphere. 

Are the roof and rear façade constructed from the identical corrugated aluminium and, if that’s the case, why?

Sure, they’re each constructed from mill-finished corrugated aluminium as a result of it is not going to rust even when it’s near the ocean. Additionally, we needed a low-maintenance product on the southern partitions of the home. We just like the extremely reflective floor that contrasts with the more-sombre timbers that dominate the remainder of the exterior. 

What was your concept behind combining this with timber, together with gutter edging that traces up with the timber cladding?

We aimed to create the home as a collection of crisp gable kinds that hover within the panorama. All of the supplies intensify the vertical nature of the volumes.

Why did you select the completely different timbers, akin to cedar and macrocarpa?

Cedar as a cladding can’t be overwhelmed for its stability and longevity whereas macrocarpa is used on the ornamental components. Over time, the completely different weathering of the completely different timbers will add texture to the general type. 

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Word: These are tales from our archives and, because the time of writing, some particulars could have modified together with names, personnel of particular companies, registration standing, and many others.