Kuaotunu House

Kuaotunu is a beachside village in the Coromandel. This house sits immediately across the road from the beach, on the site where the camping ground used to be. When McNamara was a child she and her family camped with the family of project manager John Lloyd in the exact spot where the house now sits.

The roofline of the house is not dissimilar to two tents lined up side by side. This was a deliberate tribute to the history of the site. The clients wanted a house that would fit into the environment and sit modestly alongside its neighbours so the silhouette and materials of the house were selected with this in mind.

The exterior is clad with cedar-faced plywood with cedar battens which enables the house to sit comfortably and quietly on the beachfront site.

At the front of the house on the north side the open-plan living, dining and kitchen space, however since it is exposed to coastal winds the house is positioned around a small central courtyard. Glazed doors open up onto the outside room from three sides – creating a large, sheltered open space throughout the core of the house.

Photography Credit: Jackie Meiring