On the harsh coastline that traverses Christchurch’s New Brighton Beach, this home is separated from the Pacific Ocean only by the wind-blown tussocks of the sand dunes. 

It is an area renowned for its particularly exposed location, often battered by harsh winds and extreme conditions. “Unlike other parts of New Zealand, Christchurch’s beachfront land has historically been underdeveloped and often undervalued but this area is a place of rugged beauty and slowly more value is being placed on it,” architectural designer Nick Mann of AO Architecture says.

“This house was designed for a client who has loved the area since he was a child when he spent every weekend at New Brighton Beach. He is an avid surfer and someone who is actively involved in the community, especially the surf club located just across the road.”

From the outset, the design process was centred around providing spaces that catered to the frequent comings and goings of a surfer living just a few metres from the ocean, in conjunction with creating a home that worked in context with the coastal surrounds and dense bush at the rear of the site.

The entrance is strong with a glazed steel-framed front door located at street level on the lower of two storeys, the higher of which cantilevers out over the entrance creating a sheltered alcove and a sense of the upper storey floating above.

Essentially two box forms, the lower is concrete while the upper is clad in vertical larch punctuated with extensive glazing. Immediately above the entrance alcove, an oversized shower room occupies the cantilevered area, shielded by larch fins while the master bedroom occupies the space next to it, heralded by full-height glazing facing east towards the dunes and beach beyond.

“Because the dunes in this area are particularly high, it's not a site where we could frame ocean views, even with the high studs that we used to get as much height as possible to create a feeling that the upper storey was slightly above the highest point of the dunes,” Nick explains.

Inside the main entrance, a board form concrete wall, larch ceiling and exposed concrete slab offer a choice between ascending a floating timber stair framed by a black steel balustrade or heading down the hall where three additional bedrooms are located, including one which is purposed as a home office space.

“When you get up the stairs, it's quite a different aesthetic. You’re faced with a large, open, white space that leads onto a significant western-facing deck area. Compared to the timber, concrete and steel that dominate on the lower level, upstairs is clean and simple.

“One of the beautiful things about this home is that you don’t need to see the beach to know you’re there; you just get the feeling that you’re at the coast,” Nick says.

The material palette is continued seamlessly between exterior and interior, with the exterior larch wrapping around the cantilevered upper box and in under the soffit and through the entranceway to continue along the ceiling of the lower level.”

While the palette pares back in the open-plan kitchen and living area upstairs, the light, natural coastal hues continue. “In the main ensuite bathroom, it is completely tiled in sandy, tussocky hues of warm browns and greys that mimic the surrounds.”

Downstairs, a third outdoor living space extends to the rear of the property with a unique full outdoor shower tucked in behind the garage—the perfect place to wash down after a surf and before entering the house. 

This is a house that provides the perfect transitional space between ocean and land, while sitting gracefully on a high profile site that straddles bush and sea.

Words: Clare Chapman

Photography: Simon Larkin Design Ltd.