Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i Home New Zealand

We moved to a new place last weekend. It’s actually pretty great, even though it’s not ours: the Auckland property market seems to have a shortage of houses that you’d actually want to buy right now, so we’re renting for a while. It’s a little old wooden house on a narrow street in the heart of the city. There’s a deck up in the trees and we can see the Sky Tower and I can walk to work in 11 minutes. We loved the old hood; we didn’t love the commute, and it got the better of us in the end. Our kids, raised in suburbia up a long driveway, think the best thing about moving is opening the front door and staring at everyone walking past – or better…

There was a time in Auckland when it felt like there was nowhere to go just for a drink – an intimate place, which may or may not have food. Because, let’s face it, there are few things nicer than a glass of wine at 4.30 in the afternoon on a week day, when everyone else is still at work. Enter Little Culprit, the fourth establishment from Jordan MacDonald and Kyle Street, the talented pair behind Culprit across the road, as well as the two Lowbrow restaurants – all of which are in Auckland’s CBD. Described as Culprit’s “mischevious little brother”, Little Culprit is a small space, inched into a former side entrance to the iconic 1988 Fay Richwhite building, which is all scalloped bronze glass and pinky marble. Little…

ABOUT COFFEE SUPREME In 1993, Coffee Supreme started off as a small, eager team in a capital city the size of a shopping mall in the USA. They’ve since grown to become a trusted, reliable coffee roaster that supplies delicious coffee to cafes, homes and offices across New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Supreme is all about making coffee easy, accessible and delicious – “It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning,” they say. It’s not just the thought of that first cup – be it a slow one in bed on a Sunday morning, or your midweek on-the-go cuppa from your local. It’s the thought of getting your first cup, and the one after that one, and the one after that one, too. Supreme’s subscription service delivers fresh coffee to…

Tell us about the challenges of building on Kawau. It’s not without its complications. It requires careful planning and a builder who’s engaged and willing. The site is remote and everything needs to be barged over – plus the contractors were going over there and back on a daily basis. Tide plays a big part. If you get a high tide it’s fine, but at low tide you’ve got a bit of walking to do. How did you tackle that? Some of the steel portal frames came across welded but then there was only access to a light digger. There was a really clear plan – there was an allowance of eight barges. And the owner had his own boat – he would bring over materials, light fittings, hardware, and…

A few years ago, a couple with young children approached Fearon Hay with their thoughts about building on rural land they’d purchased on the Tawharanui Peninsula. Located on an inlet, big, rolling grassy hills trickle down to the water’s edge. The estuary is not your quintessential ocean-front view for a holiday home and the owners’ approach to building on the large site veered from convention. Early discussions with Fearon Hay were about a loose occupation of the land and how it could eventually be used in a few different ways. The couple was interested in how the long-term occupation of the site might develop from an initial, informal dwelling. There was time to consider a more substantial and permanent set-up, but only if they felt it was what they wanted…

What does the bach mean now? Nicola Herbst— We have two separate lives – different sides of the same coin. We have a city existence and a bach existence. They’re a wonderful antithesis, and it has always been like that. It never changes for us. Lance Herbst— A continuum, I suppose. You look at Auckland and the way it has changed in the past 20 years. The island hasn’t really changed, whereas Auckland is a totally different place. Your houses now seem a long way from this. How does this place figure in your thinking? LH— As an architect, when you get a brief you go from 50 square metres to 100 square metres to 150 square metres, even to 200 square metres, and you can still do small. The best…

Project Villa renovation Designer Rufus Knight, Knight Associates with Simon James Location Grey Lynn, Auckland Brief Seamlessly integrate a new kitchen into the family home of designer Simon James Who does the kitchen accommodate and what were the requirements? Simon James— The kitchen needed to accommodate a family of five. We wanted the space to feel open and have a better connection to the living and outside area, while staying sympathetic to a classic villa. Naturally, kitchens are very busy areas and we wanted to integrate key appliances so that when they were not in use, the space felt clean and seamless. We started a conversation with Fisher & Paykel about how this could be achieved and learnt about a number of new products coming to the market that allowed for…

HOME Tour Central Otago called for a lot of driving – not that anyone minded in that landscape. The wide-open skies of the region might have fuelled expectations of large multi-bathroom homes, but the five on the tour were nothing like that. Rather, we saw a collection of clever houses in which conscientious design has come up with innovative solutions. Rich Naish’s own holiday home in the Cardrona Valley is a long, narrow building with a small living area at one end and a bunkroom at the other; the only proper bedroom and a large open-air space link the two. Pete Kerr and Bronwen Ritchie’s house above Lake Wakatipu is something of a classic, with humble materials that have been elegantly deployed. Beneath Central Otago’s big skies, our tour of…

How is the kitchen placed within with the plan and how does it relate to the rest of the house? It’s at the back of the house and connects to the courtyard, which connects us with greenery and to outdoor living in the courtyard. Were there any design challenges to overcome to achieve what you wanted? The door was a novel idea and novel piece of engineering. I grew up on a farm and like the idea of big gates and thought why not apply this at home. It’s a simple idea but it needed to be easy to use. Bearings are located at the hinge side and a jockey wheel at the opening side. French doors sit within the gate frame so you don’t have to open the whole door if…

You have a young family and enjoy entertaining. How does the kitchen respond to your requirements? I love to cook and entertain, so the kitchen design was something that took priority. Sitting at the centre of the house, it’s a space where I can entertain and work. I have easy access to the appliances (and, most importantly, the wine cabinet) and can continue cooking while interacting at a dinner party, or when people are enjoying the sun on the deck. The scullery behind the kitchen makes it easy to keep the kitchen clean and tidy no matter what the occasion. With a one-year-old always on the go, we’ve found that clean, modern lines and soft-close drawers have minimised the need for additional baby-proofing. Were there design challenges to overcome to achieve…

New Nordic Houses By Dominic Bradbury Sure, the context is Nordic, where climate heavily influences material choices, but little is lost in translation. Interpretation into our own vernacular is loud and clear. Rain screens, timber cladding, ply lining, folding roof lines, barn-style dwellings that are essentially wrapped when not in use, natural materials and palettes, and the dissolution of solid boundaries are familiar territory. Remarkable settings – inlets, islands, forests, pastures – and respect for context are also relatable. From alpine cabin to summer house, designs allow ample opportunity for the landscape to enthral. There are homes in all seasons, big budgets, modest budgets, off-grid and not, big names (Snøhetta, CF Moller, Saunders) and lesser-known. The overwhelming majority of homes have been completed in the last seven years, the oldest in 2006.…

Alex Scott Copy editor and cartoonist Alex Scott found inspiration in our retreats at Piha (p. 78) and Great Barrier (p. 100). Tell us about your renovation. I moved into my little 1978 two-bedroom unit in Blockhouse Bay, Auckland, a year ago. It had different wallpaper in every room, stained beige carpet and awful swirled plaster ceilings throughout, but I love it! Progress with improvements has been slow but I feel like we’re on the cusp of a breakthrough. I’m loving planning something that’s completely based around how my partner and I live. The first phase is complete with fresh paint, smooth ceilings and 70s-inspired moss- green carpet in the bedrooms. I’ve recently cracked the kitchen layout and also scored a pastel blue drop-in tub for $15 off Trade Me, which…

The New Zealand Institute of Architects recently announced its national awards in Queenstown, featuring a number of our favourites – both recent, and not so recent. ‘Wynyard Central’, Auckland, Architectus Patrick Clifford’s own home was named the first Home of the Year back in 1996 and this year, his practice won Best Multi-Unit with Wynyard Central. Now, it’s won the NZIA’s Sir Ian Athfield Award for Housing – the first apartment block to earn that honour. Wynyard Central is a model example, providing a level of design and quality of living that should be standard, but usually isn’t. Most apartments in the complex run from one side of the building to the other, and all have deep, covered outdoor living spaces. The arrangement of low-, mid- and high-rise buildings on…

It seems remarkable, but most electrical hardware – even the sleekest or best-designed – works on a traditional model, where the face sits over the wall, hiding whatever mess was created behind during the installation process. It’s efficient, sure, but often at odds with the architecture around it, no matter how nicely designed the cover plate. Even in Europe and the States, where flush-mounted fittings have been popular for a few years, the results have been variable – alternately ersatz, cheap, or awkward: one option on the market features a sole round outlet floating in the middle of nowhere, like a comical face drilled into a wall. It’s hard to fathom that no one got around to designing outlets that were flush-mounted and discreet, but beautiful in their own right. It was…

There’s something magical about Garden Road. It lies at the end of a meandering path – more one-lane access than actual road – that slows you down, physically and mentally. The ‘Garden’ part of the name is at least accurate: big, beautiful pōhutukawa encroach in the loveliest possible way, lilies float on a pond, and, often, the only sign of a home is its driveway. You are rapt by and wrapped in a spectrum of greens. The enchanting scene is the perfect antidote for a harried city dweller retreating from Auckland to this small enclave of established baches on the west coast. When Stephen Lee turned 30, he took up surfing, and Piha became the go-to destination from his Auckland base. Lee’s wife Kate soon became enamoured with this unique…

Where do you draw the line on what to include and what not to include within a modest footprint? The starting point from the clients was modest – somewhere to sleep, somewhere to bathe and somewhere to cook and eat. By referencing camping, there was no need for large interior living spaces, as most of this is done outside, in and around the cabins. When camping, there’s a sense of intimacy with those who share the space – this was an important aspect to keep in the design. Tell us a bit about the materials and why you chose them. The external appearance of each building uses a combination of exposed timber framework and shutters. The timber was oiled with a natural finish to embed the cabins harmoniously in the…

Simplicity is an art form. Making something appear effortless, when the opposite is closer to the truth, takes much more than a sleight of hand. This weekender by John Irving on Waiheke Island is recessive and quiet on its site – quite a feat given its public nature, with the beach to the north and a public walkway to the west. The design gives the owners exactly what they asked for – privacy and views – without doing anything “as crass as putting up a fence”, says Irving. The owners approached Irving after seeing a holiday home he had designed elsewhere on the island on a similarly public site, which featured in our December 2016/January 2017 issue. They liked the simplicity of its gable form and the privacy of its…

Project New kitchen in a new home Architect Daniel Marshall, DMA Location Remuera, Auckland Brief A hard-wearing space for a family with three boys Who is the kitchen designed for and what were their requirements? The kitchen design was for a couple with three boisterous boys. As such, having a large scullery was a key requirement for storage and a breakfast station, dishwashing etcetera, so that the main kitchen can maintain an elegant aesthetic. The polished concrete picks up reflections, which add to the sense of scale – was this a deliberate choice or a happy accident? We were always going to have a polished concrete floor, but the client ended up selecting a much higher level of gloss in the sealer coat than we were expecting. So, it’s a…

The day after the Central Otago tour, we headed to Christchurch. We’ve been watching Christchurch with interest for the past few years – nearly a decade after the first earthquake, the rebuild has produced some very interesting architecture. The results are simultaneously respectful of the city’s strong architectural heritage, and thoroughly modern. For a glimpse of how small, inner-city living could look – and not just in Christchurch – we dropped by Mitchell Coll’s twin townhouses on a tiny urban site: designed to be lifted off and moved if need be, they’re constructed from XLam timber and clad in Corten steel: tough, yet warm, and well planned. Similarly, architect Braden Harford’s own home – which won Best Small Home in Home of the Year 2018 – will eventually be accompanied…

How does the kitchen function, physically and aesthetically? The length of the kitchen works really well for food preparation, cooking and clean up, which can all be carried out in their own zones. The vertical elements hide away the fridge, pantry and also give us plenty of extra storage. Having the kitchen within the dining and living area keeps the family close and social, and motivates us to keep on top of the kitchen mess and get dishes done as soon as possible. Aesthetically, we wanted a beautiful, uncluttered and refined kitchen, which we have achieved through clean lines and by working with a minimal selection of quality materials. The south-wall facade is closed to the public side and only penetrated at one end to allow views up to the…

What were your clients’ requirements? They wanted a large central space for entertaining. They liked Nigel Slater’s kitchen and wanted industrial materials, natural light and a good connection with the covered outdoor dining area. What design challenges did you face with the kitchen? The narrow site and floorplate meant there was limited wall space. The single, central island needed to be the work-prep-cleaning station, table and a place for friends and family to gather. Talk us through the materials used. The plywood joinery has a native-timber veneer and minimal visible hardware. The recycled brick comes from a neighbour’s house that was damaged in the earthquakes. The exposed painted steel trusses and the highly insulated translucent polycarbonate roof and walls bring in light and reference glasshouses. Appliances All by Fisher & Paykel:…

We’re delighted to welcome Patrick Kennedy and Rachel Nolan to judge Home of the Year 2020. The award-winning Melbourne architects are known for creating designs true to place, which weave memory, craft and light together into very special buildings that resist ‘Pinterest’ architecture. Please join us for a discussion about recent projects – and a drink or two – at the newly opened Bankside rooftop deck of the Northern Club. AUCKLAND 6pm, Tuesday 11 February The Northern Club 19 Princes St, Auckland THE DETAILS Tickets, $25, include the conversation, drinks and canapes. To purchase, visit kennedynolan.eventbrite.co.nz Patrick Kennedy and Rachel Nolan met while studying at the University of Melbourne and formed their practice Kennedy Nolan soon afterwards. Their handcrafted, sculptural form of modernist design is highly individual and exhibits both socially and aesthetically…

Each April, Dulux assembles a panel of architects, interior designers and media to judge entries from Australasia – and specifically, to judge their use of colour. Open to any project that has used Dulux paint, it’s an esteemed award, hotly contested by some of the best designers from both countries, and the awards are announced at a gala evening in Melbourne in May. The joy in the competition is that it pits the virtually unknown against the established – highlights from 2019 included the ‘Caroline’ house by our Home of the Year 2020 judges of Kennedy Nolan, along with the Australian Grand Prix winner, a childcare centre in Sydney designed by Andrew Daly of Supercontext Architecture Studio, a young practice with just a handful of projects to their name. The…

Tell us what you do and why you do it. I’m an industrial designer with a passion for lighting design. I spend most of my time designing bespoke feature lighting, as well as limited-production pieces. It’s a really interesting part of the design world to be in, since you get to work closely with the client to produce something that’s unique to their space. You recently won Gold Pin at the Best Design Awards for the ‘AB Pendant’, the result of a two-year collaboration with David Moreland and Nikolai Sorensen for Città. Tell us more. It was awesome to come away with gold, especially considering the quality we saw from the other contestants. My collaboration with Città has been a career highlight. We had the opportunity to design the AB…

Powersurge launched its first range of brass products this year, after more than a decade producing bespoke metal work for houses, shops and restaurants. Now, the company, which is based in Henderson, Auckland, has released a second batch of homewares in brushed brass. Key to this collection is knurling, a technique that imprints a pattern of cross-hatching into the metal, as seen in the ‘Knurl’ triple-bud vase (right). Locally designed and beautifully made, these products will last a lifetime. Capsule collection powersurge.co.nz…

‘Huggins’ house by John Huggins Avonside, Christchurch Inspired in part by the work of Le Corbusier, John Huggins designed this house for himself and his family in 1973. In some ways, the design reads like a fractured barn, with a long, rounded gable wrapping over a concrete-block base, sliced through with floor-to-ceiling windows. Inside, double-height voids create drama, while more intimate areas – including a separate living room with sarked timber ceilings – create a sense of warmth. Upstairs, pop-out balconies off bedrooms at either end of the house enliven the facade and are accessed via barn-style timber doors. An extensive restoration two years ago rejuvenated the house – the lively interior now features shades of pink, green and blue, as well as a hallway lined with a custom illustration,…

How does the sleepout work with the original bach and the site? The sleepout is a stand-alone structure at the rear of the site. It sits directly behind the original bach and was elevated to create an open living space below. This platform is not a space that the clients had thought they would need, but now they couldn’t imagine the site without it. This space is multi-functional and has become the heart of the site. I like the fact that you need to circulate externally between the buildings to use them as one. It makes you more aware of the natural environment and provides a more authentic bach experience.  The entrance to the sleepout is one of many playful details, such as the blue steel post and red door.…

There are houses that stay indelibly imprinted on your brain. You can remember every step you took, every footfall despite having only been in them once or twice. They become familiar, like a house you’ve spent a lot of time in. For me, one such place is the bach of Lance and Nicola Herbst on Great Barrier Island. This summer, it turns 20 years old. You might know it from the reportage it has received over the years, and for the effect it had on New Zealand architecture and the Herbsts’ careers. Back in the early 2000s, the couple burst onto the New Zealand architecture scene after emigrating from South Africa with a style of building – all outdoor rooms and screens, outdoor fireplaces and methods of building, where the bones…

You’ve managed to design a home on a fairly public site that’s not only discreet but very private. How did the design for this tricky site unfold for you? We like to keep it simple, and courtyards are brilliant when privacy and shelter are an issue. Planning rules dictated a fairly small footprint, so it’s also a way of making a place feel a lot bigger than it really is. The courtyard is another big and breezy room – basic stuff, really, but it works. A lot of work has gone into concealment, from the decorative double-skin cladding to storage. Talk us through how you’ve refined this art of concealment. There is a lot of trickery involved in making things look easy and elemental. We wanted the place to have…

Our Auckland tour was the biggest we’ve staged. Almost 200 people made their way around six Auckland homes, ranging in style and scale from an Architectus-designed apartment complex at Wynyard Quarter to the sublime home of architect Lisa Webb, built on a 200-square-metre former front lawn in Westmere. The tour showcased houses that were tailored to the owners’ brief, including a design by Guy Tarrant in Mt Eden (a finalist in Home of the Year 2018), and our Home of the Year 2019, the ‘Diagrid’ house by Jack McKinney in Grey Lynn. At the home of architect Ken Crosson, also in Grey Lynn, Fisher & Paykel turned on an impressive spread, including an ‘edible garden’ laid out on a long table, that offered much-needed sustenance to the tour party. In a…

Tell us about the Companion concept. Our new range of cooking companion products provides choice and design freedom for customers. It includes a combination steam oven, microwave oven, warming drawers and a coffee maker that are designed in modular sizes to work perfectly in any kitchen size or layout. What do the companions do that other products don’t? They provide additional cooking technologies for a greater variety of cooking methods and styles. The combination steam oven and combination microwave oven are great multi-function appliances. For example, the steam oven operates as an oven, grill and fan grill, and it also has five steam functions – all in the one compact footprint. Why the new black range? We’ve made all of the design elements in the new range black. There’s a lot…

You spent some time in the ‘Abberley’ house by RTA Studio on HOME Tour. What makes it work? The architect and owners arranged the spaces within the house to create a generous and social space, where the kitchen is anchored in the centre of the home, and you flow through and into the outdoor areas. The long island in the kitchen creates a centre stage, with the storage and appliances out of site on the far side but easily accessible. At either end of the island there are tall but narrow columns of cabinetry housing more storage and appliances: these provide functionality but don’t overtake the space. And the way the light comes through the translucent ceiling panels makes the space feel so tranquil – I’m sure any cooking disaster…

DECEMBER • Dec/Jan issue on sale • Home of the Year entries close FEBRUARY • February/March issue on sale • Home of the Year judging • In Conversation with Kennedy Nolan at the Northern Club MARCH • Home of the Year 2020 finalists announced APRIL • Apr/May issue on sale • Home of the Year 2020 announced in Auckland MAY • In Conversation: Home of the Year winner JUNE • June/July issue on sale AUGUST • Aug/Sept issue on sale SEPTEMBER • Aug/Sep issue on sale • HOME Tour 2020 programme starts homemagazine.co.nz…

When you announce, perhaps a little too grandly for your own good, that you’re throwing in the city for the good life in the country, the first thing people say is “how brave”. This is to be expected. You are showing off; they think you’re bonkers. It’s quite true that, for lifelong townies, quitting the city for the backblocks of “the provinces” takes a bit of moxie. However, it’s the next thing your friends and workmates say that will properly stop you in your tracks. “What,” they will eventually ask, brows furrowed, “are you actually going to do in the country?” What a good question. To be sure, I wasn’t absolutely sure. Not then. Now, two years after leaving Auckland for Wairarapa – not quite the wilds; more a picturesque lifestyle block…

“My first view of Parnell Baths was as a five-year-old out of the window of my parents’ Humber 80, on the way to visit my grandparents in St Heliers. Swimming has been a lifelong pleasure and even at five I was hooked. I didn’t get to swim there until I was 19, while working in the city. The young ‘singles’ in the office worked through Christmas/New Year and we would head to the baths for a ‘longish’ lunch to swim, catch some sun and eat hot dogs on sticks. I am passionate about mid-century and modernist architecture, and Parnell Baths had the avant-garde swank of the modernist genre. The stylish murals, large aqua pools, colourful umbrellas, loungers and water slides are a slice of Palm Springs transported to Auckland. The beautiful timber…