By Herriot Melhuish O'Neill Architects Ltd
This house and artist studio is nestled into a steep site overlooking the dramatic, black sand dunes of West Auckland’s Bethells Beach. Three timber boxes extend towards a deck that hovers over native bush. Two of the boxes house living and bedroom spaces, the third is the studio.
Clear glazing at the ends of each box frame views of Nikau palms, distant dunes and the coast. Where privacy is more critical, natural light is diffused through translucent fibreglass.
“... The strength of its forms belies a harmonious relationship with the landscape,” NZIA Awards Jury, 2003.
Photos: Jackie Meiring.
Awards: NZIA New Zealand Award, 2003.
Herriot Melhuish O’Neill Architects is an NZIA award-winning practice with studios in Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Tauranga. Established in 1997, our rich portfolio of commercial and residential work demonstrates a strong commitment to creating beautifully-crafted architecture that enhances the lives of those who experience our buildings – both inside and out.
We believe that enduring architecture is a delicate balance of factors – our clients’ needs and aspirations, our professional training and expertise, the history and nature of the site – but also intuition and commonsense. Every design decision, from materials to how the building complements the landscape, matters to us and adds to the experiential qualities of our projects.
Directors Max Herriot and John Melhuish in Wellington, Duval O'Neill in Christchurch and Matt Pearson in Auckland are committed to the best architectural design practices. HMOA Associate and registered architect Jenny Duck runs the Tauranga studio.
As well as new homes and house renovations, we have experience in the education, recreation, heritage, health and hospitality sectors, office interiors, multi-unit developments, civil projects and master-planning.