Awarua Street House

By Foundation Architects

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This new residence is a detached infill dwelling situated on a new site subdivided from the owners original site. The existing house sat elevated at the rear of the section with a long walk up path from the road adjacent to a sloping lawn. The existing neighbouring houses on either side occupied their sections in the opposite way, being close to street with large sloping gardens behind them. This situated the new house in close proximity to the neighbouring dwellings.

The client brief was for a single occupant dwelling, comprising three bedrooms and one bathroom, well connected to site of the original garden. No on-site parking was required or available at the site. The courtyard house typology was chosen as the best way to align the brief to the site’s environmental conditions. Views, sun and privacy are maximised and the owner is kept in constant contact with the outdoor via occupation and circulation adjacent to the courtyard, the procession for the main bedroom to the public area of the house prioritised over the location of the more infrequently used secondary bedrooms. In section the house generally follows the topography of the site, and is terraced on three levels. This affords connection to the site and kept the house massing under the in-fill housing height limit of 4.5m.

A simple low maintenance material palette was chosen to articulate a wrapping skin of profiled metal, with end walls and the subtracted space of the courtyard in stained timber. Rustic buffed concrete floors and natural timber ground the interior with a neutral colour scheme the background to the greenery outside and artworks within.

New Zealand Institute of Architects, Wellington Architecture Award 2017, Housing Category.

Foundation Architects
Wellington

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Awarua Street House

Foundation Architects
Foundation Architects
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Foundation Architects, Wellington, is a design based studio working in Te Aro Wellington with a strong client and site specific approach. We undertake a wide range of residential and commercial projects that are in each case grounded in the key constraints of their individual context.

We believe the value of having a diverse portfolio of work is that it brings a wide perspective of experience and an open mind to each specific project, so if you are looking to undertake a project contact us to arrange a relaxed and informal discussion of your project requirements.

Each site, be it unbuilt land or an existing structure, both suggests and resists the desired architectural solution. Each client is a key collaborator in the architectural relationship – the more that you commit, the more appropriate the solution is to you. Foundation Architects respect these starting points and then bring approaches both creative and pragmatic formed from a wealth of experience with the director’s combined 20+ years in practice.

In each project we resolve a solution appropriate to its circumstance. We value economy, by which we mean being careful and efficient with the resources at our disposal. We value craft, seeking the skillful transformation of resources into things that we want to be within. And we value durability, we aim to create things with lasting value in the built environment due to the care and skill invested in the process of their creation.

We care deeply for form and aesthetics but prefer not to ground our projects in these pursuits as a primary concern. We are of the mind that a project’s aesthetic arises from its particular requirements, its values and constraints. Within that framework we then work with a commitment to appropriate materials and well-detailed and crafted construction.

Whilst the design of something is an important starting point in the architectural journey its realisation in building becomes increasingly based on the communication of information. We take care in all our communications. In particular, with regards to setting and achieving project budgets, we implement a robust and honest approach to minimise risk and reduce uncertainty in the procurement and administration of construction services.