Kinloch Lake House

A lakefront house arranged around a central courtyard A lakefront site at Kinloch is an incredibly sought after spot for a new build. It immediately evokes the possibility of Kiwi summer holidays and kids camping on the lawn, swimming and fishing in the lake, and a general laidback bach lifestyle. Yet for this site, there were a few challenges that added complexity for the architects to deliver. First, the site has south views, and second, the shape of the site is a tricky rhomboid. Added to this, the clients had a range of activities they wanted the home to encompass. “Their brief was ambitious and unique, and they really wanted to maximize the space on the site,” says BOON project architect Callum Barnett. The couple wanted to create an expansive footprint, dividing it into three primary spaces. One was called the ‘campground’, where all the guests would stay; then there was their personal ‘retreat’ space with the master suite, and finally, the ‘pavilion’, which is the social heart of the home, bringing everyone together. What initially seemed like a challenging brief, ended up becoming the arranging logic in the spatial plan of the home. “We decided to arrange these three zones around a central courtyard,” says Barnett. “It was a great solution because it also gave the opportunity to bring light into the south part of the house.” Organising these spaces around the courtyard on the tight site required pushing the house right to the boundaries in every facet. It means the form of the house is, in fact, the same rhomboid shape as the section. To highlight the unusual shape, the architects chose a brutalistic materiality of precast concrete and a flat steel roof. “In the entry, we created a pre-cast shell – it’s almost like the shell of an egg,” says Barnett. “So when you arrive, you’re looking at this deceptively tall, protective pre-cast wall with accents of timber.” Moving past it is like going beyond the protective shell into the softer, lighter interior; when you walk into the home straight into the campsite wing, there’s a garage on the left and a bunkroom on the right. The materiality immediately softens, with timber linings that bring a lovely warmth. There is a play between open and closed spaces achieved through varying ceiling heights. In the campsite zone, the skillion roof soars to three metres, whereas as you walk through into the pavilion space the ceiling drops to a cosier 2.2 metres. To enhance the unique nature of each space, the architects worked with interior designer Annika Rowson of Rownson Kitchens, who delivered the interiors, opting for timber floors, an in situ concrete fireplace, and marble and copper accents in the kitchen to further add depth and texture. Rather than straighten everything to mitigate the rhomboid form of the house, the odd angles were embraced and accentuated throughout the home through material choices and built-in joinery. “The fireplace itself emulates that rhomboid form, and it’s centred in the pavilion space, where it brings the exterior pre-cast concrete materiality into the interior,” says Barnett. Since the project was completed, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The clients have entertained many guests in front of the roaring fire, and have often spent time with just the two of them in their private retreat space. “It's funny, because when you see a house that's designed poorly, sometimes you can almost see the planning regulations affecting it,” says Barnett. “But I think in this project it was almost the brief demanding an unusual response, so instead of working around it we said, ‘Let's embrace it!’” What could have been a limitation became the defining feature of the home. By embracing the rhomboid shape, the architects found a way to bring the three distinct zones together around the courtyard, creating a house that feels both expansive and intimate. It is a solution that has resonated with the clients, too, who now enjoy a home equally suited to filling with guests around the fire or retreating to their own private corner of the lakefront. On a building or renovation journey? Explore products, professionals and projects on ArchiPro to make your dream home a reality.