Sullivan House

The clever design of this substantial rural home not only suited a young family's needs at the time of construction, but continues to accommodate them and their many friends today. Located near Whitford, east of Auckland on a 1.8ha lifestyle block, the house enjoys a northern aspect with spectacular views to the Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto Island. The floor plan was inspired by these geographic features, with each room making the most of the views. Built in three stages over 14 years, the house has a structure of reinforced concrete and steel supporting the upper concrete floors, with the form broken up to create a sense of pavilions in the landscape and reduce the overall scale. It incorporates the main two-level family home, a detached guest house, games room and garage, swimming pool, tennis court and tennis pavilion, and a separate garaging pavilion and boat shed, all organised around a curved entry colonnade. The main house is ordered by a curved spine that runs throughout its length and separates the private from public spaces. Formal areas are generally treated with larger volumes of double height space in contrast to more intimate spaces for the private and family areas. Each turn and twist in the free-flowing plan opens up a unique and unexpected view. The northern aspect, mostly glazed with large areas of solid timber sun-shading louvres, affords good indoor outdoor flow from all rooms to a courtyard complemented by the swimming pool. The protective south side is punctuated with smaller slot windows. Photography : Michael Ng