Clifford-Forsyth House

By Architectus

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The design concept began with an investigation of the relationship between a light wooden frame and solid retaining block walls, and an ideal of creating the spirit of a boathouse, a place to retreat to, almost a holiday house within the city.

The primary elements of construction, frame and walls, sit on a concrete base, while a folded plate roof, underlined with plywood, tops the whole.

Block-work elements which began life as a core (enclosing some functions or forming a hearth) are separated, interacting with the frame to divide the space; cupping each end of a ‘servant’ zone (on the angle of the roof’s fold) and compressing the middle of a ‘served’ zone.

Approached from the street above, the house addresses the public edge with an expressed colonnade and glazed screen stretched between block walls – inclined warmly and welcomingly to the visitor.

“…a certain antipodean lightness that comes of the logical economies of the new. There a balance to this house that shows both a certainty and a courtesy towards its setting in both culture and nature.” MICHAEL SORKIN UME 4

Location:
Auckland

Completion:
1995

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Clifford-Forsyth House

Architectus
Architectus
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- 2020

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Architectus is an architecture and urbanism practice designing places and spaces tuned to their communities, context and culture. Advocates for integrated design, we apply a rigorous and tailored approach to create environments that are inspiring and enduring.

For over 30 years, we have been realising innovative and bespoke projects around Aotearoa New Zealand, shaping precincts and campuses with people and sustainability at their heart. Through a collaborative and integrated approach, we have had many successful joint ventures with local and international partners, and we enjoy a strong relationship with our associated studios in Australia.

Our Purpose
We believe architecture begins with a social agenda. It must nurture and grow communities and individuals, and enhance its neighbourhood and city. Appropriate, efficient and elegant architecture for today becomes the urban fabric of the future – we design for this longevity, to create places that will serve generations to come.

Design Philosophy
While a good project must firstly solve practical needs and be viable, a truly great project must embody a community’s broader cultural context: its urban and architectural setting, its local geography and ecology, and the stories of its people. The more meaningful a place becomes through a true sense of belonging, the greater the value and longevity it has for its community.

We believe placemaking in Aotearoa is grounded in a bicultural creative process. We partner with mana whenua to embed their aspirations and cultural narratives across functional, ceremonial, spatial and artistic dimensions.

Underpinning these human stories is our responsibility to be judicious with natural resources. Environmentally sensitive architecture requires us to be energy-efficient and space-efficient, and to use low-carbon materials and ethically sourced products.

This is a holistic approach that embeds our practice in a continuum of artistic and technical progress, so the architecture we are responsible for will be relevant for decades to come.