Tasman Cliffs

We are proud to announce this property has just been awarded:

• Registered Master Builders House of the Year Gold Award 2022 - Cook Strait
• Registered Master Builders House of the Year Regional Category Winner 2022 - Cook Strait
• Registered Master Builders House of the Year Regional Lifestyle Award Kitchen 2022 - Cook Strait
• Registered Master Builders House of the Year Regional Lifestyle Award Outdoor Living 2022 - Cook Strait

The zenith of all client briefs is one where none exists. Add to this a spectacular section on the Tasman Cliffs with panoramic views of the sea and you have an incredibly enticing proposition for any designer.

Save for the requisites of three bedrooms, several bathrooms and references to New Zealand bach typology, this dream project was an exciting and atypical proposition for Contemporary Homes director Paul Richards.

“The client is based in the eastern seaboard of the US, and at the time I was commissioned to do the job, I didn't have a scope and didn't even have a meeting with the client. The brief was an open envelope to develop the property as a New Zealand base for the family when they visit.”

To reflect bach typology, a linear monopitch form was devised, which spans the length of the cliff front, allowing each of the rooms to take in transcendent views of the sea.

To break up the mass of the building, two modules are offset from a central module, with round glazed atriums in the connections in between, providing angulation from the central module and reflecting bach typology, where a series of extrapolated lean-tos were traditionally added on to each other over time.

On the right as you enter the property, the master bedroom suite greets you, with the garage at the front and entry to its left, which takes you past the pool and outdoor kitchen area. The central module houses the kitchen and living and the module at the far end contains the guest bedroom suites.

A monopitch roof joins all three modules, but is broken by two huge three-metre glass panels which are integrated into the roof plane and shelter the open deck areas that sit in between the passageways that link the three modules.

The roof is a Colorsteel tray profile that wraps over the back of the building, breaking up the height of the cladding.

“We didn't want to have all that cladding going to that height so wrapping it down and encasing the highlight windows in the main living area created a bit of a feature, sucking down the flat roofs – making them appear like eyebrows wrapping around the back of the building in a different colour – breaks those tall heights down to a bach scale.”

The exterior materiality was also derived from bach typology, with cedar claddings used in different profiles and orientations, and a contrasting colour stain at each end of the building and on the garage to break up the mass of the home.

Equally, the materials of the interior reflect the restrained palette of nature and the textures of the exterior, allowing the views to take centre stage.

On entry to the house through glazed pivot doors that view is taken in immediately, from the sheltered lobby space, which has the purpose of stopping doors from slamming across the house, due to the wind, which is the prominent meteorological feature of the exposed location.

A spherical sculpture draws attention out to the sea and away from the cosy living room, which is adjacent to the lobby.

Apart from the lobby, which features European oak on the floor, and the bedrooms which are carpeted, all the floors are polished concrete and composed of an exposed aggregate stone, which contains Riwaka gold and Wairau River red stones.

Paul says there were many challenges during the project, not least of all the fact that the house is sited on tricky geological material, and is only 20 metres from the edge of the cliff. To solve this issue and support a building with long spans of steel structure, extensive foundations were key.

“The ground conditions weren't particularly good, so we put 137 concrete piles underneath the raft floor, two to six metres deep to support the building.”

However, in spite of the technical difficulties of the project, Paul says the clients were delighted with their Kiwi home, when they flew in to see it for the first time.

“The best part was just getting the clients here, because they didn't have any part of the on site process at all. They walked into the home that they had asked to be designed and built and they were blown away. The client told me that this is their favourite home across the globe, so from my perspective, that’s quite an accolade.”

Photography by Caleb