Highview House

This is a wonderful site set in a swathe of plaster and hardies minor mansions. The brief called for relaxing home with a strong and elegant form that boldly occupied the site. The built form references the delightful 1960s beachheads of New Zealand’s suburban late modernism. The graceful form, thoroughly glazed, alighted in a gently generic suburb. The entrance dissolves the separation between street and central gallery passage and gives a vertically-framed glance of the spectacular panorama awaiting in the living spaces. Three “Tasman Bay windows” are a nuanced counterpoint to the softly folded roof above. Each bay is virtually identical, but allow unique and special views of the garden, hills and sea to be enjoyed from different rooms. The warm stained cedar ceiling lining enhances these perspectives. A large curved deck provides a destination to relax with family and friends whilst hovering above Tahunanui and the bay beyond. Photography: Paul McCredie