This project afforded myself and my partner Tara – a contemporary jeweler – the special opportunity to collaborate, and design and build a home for ourselves.

The site is a mere 240sqm with an average slope of about 40 degrees in earthquake prone Wellington. With a meagre budget and some limiting planning conditions it posed a significant challenge.

Tucked away in a quiet valley overlooking native bush reserve the positive aspects of the site were there waiting to be drawn out.

The architecture of the house exploits the steepness of the site providing a sense of elevation above the bush canopy. 

The interior spaces work with the contours of the site and are organised to make the most efficient use of space, angled reflexively to maximise the range of possible views and access to natural daylight.

Using sustainably harvested Totara we designed and handcrafted all the window and door joinery ourselves. 

This allowed myself as a builder to branch into an area of craft I don’t usually get the pleasure to embark on and my partner as a contemporary jeweler the opportunity to develop a new set of skills at a different scale. 
The joinery stands out as a feature against white walls and ceilings enhancing the lush green of the surrounding bush clad hills.

This home makes use of sustainable design principles, building best practices and health-based building materials.

The result is a warm, comfortable, energy efficient home that feels a wonderful environment for our daughter Sadie to thrive within.

We love living in our new home and feel like the process of designing and building was a journey that helped us both to grow. In some senses this house built us as much as we built it. A beautiful symbiotic relationship.

“This is an extremely well-crafted design on a tight budget for a steep and challenging site. The overall result is a home that offers a humble, yet very liveable, set of spaces; and the materials and textures that furnish these spaces give a warm and welcoming air. The lovely material palette has also been chosen with sustainable attributes in mind. This is a multi-faceted gem, and to find that one of the designers is a jeweler came as no surprise.”

“This is a well-crafted interior successfully completed on a limited budget. Bespoke joinery and an extensive use of native timber creates a warm and relaxed interior. Attention to material choices with low-embodied energy and non-toxic composition ensures the creation of a healthy environment. To enhance the crafted and sustainable nature of the design approach, re-purposed elements have been sourced and appropriately integrated adding to the very authentic and honest approach.”

Through the expression of craft and quality this project seeks to inspire a different narrative around apartment living demonstrating that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.

The brief for the project involved a complete redesign of the interior space.

The original fit out was generic, worn and outdated and my clients felt like its use was overly defined. 

They liked the idea of a jewelry box apartment, something of high quality, with spaces that were ambiguous, while being compact and practical. 

At just 45m2, highly considered spaces and an open plan design ensure day to day needs are met within an environment that is compact without feeling compromised.

The clients wanted spaces that feathered into one another, spaces that were adaptable and an overall feeling that was experiential and rich.

This project takes a bespoke approach, with a focus on quality. 

Concepts of durability and endurance are actively promoted through the crafting of space and materials, advocating an appreciation of their inherent value whilst promoting the idea that a sustainable lifestyle can be both desirable and fulfilling.

Artisan craftspeople were employed to achieve the high-quality finish. 

Collaboratively we worked to our strengths, considering every detail, and exploring the possibilities inherent in the materials. 

Through this process materials were pushed to their limits; details were refined, and junctions resolved.

This minimalist approach to detailing, coupled with a restrained material palate ensures elements serve both an aesthetic and a functional purpose, an example of which is the stow away table. 
When housed the folded brass edge, used as a pull to move the table, forms a border to the joinery below.

Through this an efficiency of space is achieved, built elements are multi-purpose with use deliberately left un-defined. This blurs the lines between spatial boundaries increasing the sense of area surrounding a particular activity.

Materials for the project were chosen carefully to complement one another, while reinforcing the broader intentions of the design.

Maple ply brings an element of detail with its eccentric grain patterns showcasing nature’s genius. 

Grooved in some areas to accentuate light and shadow and create a level of detail familiar to the human scale. 

The 6mm thick brass folds into and around the joinery navigating the threshold between spaces. 

It fluctuates in appearance, deep and moody on its face, while catching the light along its edges and accentuating transitions between building elements

By repeating these materials and details throughout a sense of flow is achieved, disrupting the notion that a kitchen needs to be a kitchen or a laundry a laundry. Elements of the space become less a representation of their use and more an object to be admired and enjoyed.

The renovation of this 1950’s bungalow centered around creating a warm and inviting space that connected the living and dining spaces with the outdoor garden environment.

Originally a rabbit warren of small rooms, there was a real need to open the house out embracing the surrounding hill-scape and introducing natural daylight.

The clients being avid brewers and preservers had a desire to better connect the house with their garden containing fruit trees, vegetable boxes and chickens

This meant the renovations centered around the kitchen being the heart of the space with plenty of in-built storage for jars and bottles. . 

Their collection of mid-century furniture provided inspiration for the design aesthetic and with a low budget there was a need to recycle as much of the useful demolition material as possible.

All the original Rimu framing was repurposed into the kitchen joinery.

A large piece of Kauri that had been in the client’s family for a number of years was given a new life as the feature bench top for the kitchen island and living room divider. 

The native timbers compliment Gaboon plywood joinery, white walls accentuate the warmth of the timber and help the brass detailing to shine.

As the designer on this job it was a pleasure to work in close collaboration with the clients who had a sharp eye for detail and a desire to really make the most of the available space. Although I did not do the base build for this job, I built all of the joinery and really enjoyed the opportunity to take what most would consider demolition material and craft it into something really unique and special.

Building on top of a trailer enabled expansion without the disruption of building a permanent extension, also offering the added ability to drive the bedroom to the beach for some cheeky glamping.

This was a design and build project intending to solve a very specific problem.

The client had a very small yet beautifully renovated villa in Auckland’s city centre. She wanted to add an extra bedroom and office to her home however the only space available to expand into was the carpark wedged between her home and the neighbours. 

The geometry and proportions draw on familiar feelings associated with colonial style housing, combined with minimalist detailing and modern materials giving the architecture a timeless quality.

Being both designer and builder on this project allowed me to really push the boundaries of my craft. 

The main structural frames were built using traditional nail-less jointing methods. 

The exterior shell was built in reverse from inside to out allowing for the interior birch ply panels to be installed without any visible fixings. 

The combination of modern and traditional joinery methods work in harmony creating a sense of calm and cohesion.

Whare Rakau

This project afforded myself and my partner Tara – a contemporary jeweler – the special opportunity to collaborate, and design and build a home for ourselves.