The house is in Auckland’s inner suburbs, dug into a sloping clay site. The main living spaces are on a raised platform formed by the basement garage, creating views over the houses opposite. The living room opens directly onto a large outdoor room, sociably placed above the street.

The building is a deliberately rugged expression of in-situ poured concrete, left to an industrial standard. The concrete skeleton of the structure is visible throughout. Its simple trabeated frame is at once ancient and modern.

Photographed by David Straight.