This is a detached contemporary house that utilises the entirety of a small inner city section of 232 square metres. The house uses the neighbouring Victorian cottage as its precedent, together they present a striking street view.
This house is a recipient of an NZIA Award in 2007.
The location for this house is in Remuera, within 300 metres of the Newmarket railway station. The street was developed in the 19th century with a diverse range of cottages and villas. Today the street has a number of different sized infill developments, and there has been various additions and alterations to the original housing stock.
This site contained one of a pair of narrow one and half storey cottages that were originally moved from Wahi in the early 20th century.
The neighbouring cottage is the precedent for the design response. The two can be considered a pair, one the restored example of a 19th century cottage, the other its contemporary translation.
The architect has very creatively designed a house that provides a range of delightful interpretations of the client’s brief which could have otherwise been quite ordinary.
The design has responded cleverly to a difficult site given its relative narrowness. The simple main form of the house is to the front of the site, providing a strong street presence. At the rear of this form, the design cleverly blurs the line between the internal and external aspects of the house.