By Pacific Environments Architects
Designed as a weekend escape, this will eventually become the well-deserved ‘retirement’ home for the owners. The house is laid out in two pavilions separated by an adaptable atrium space as the heart of the home all year round. The main house pavilion holds self-contained living and sleeping, while the second is a bedroom wing for the family and grandchildren’s summer holidays.
The glassed walled atrium between these two spaces not only separates but enhances the living in all seasons, conditions and occasions. It opens up and closes down allowing for any combination of uses. The glazed openings allow for soaking in the sunshine and coastal breezes, or provide protection from the weather while you watch it brew from your cosy spot by the fire.
Featuring natural materials to enhance the coastal feel – wood predominately, used as external vertical cladding, internal flooring and wall features, contrasted with honed and raw shuttered concrete and beautifully textured tiling. While a modern house design, it beautifully captures a homely, rustic feel making it a well-balanced eclectic home that will surely weather the test of time on its coastal perch.
Pacific Environments Architects is an environmentally focused architectural & urban design practice working towards the best outcomes for people, place and community.
With over 60 years experience, our portfolio showcases a diverse range of projects – master planning and urban design, civic and community centres, commercial buildings, retirement villages, large and small-scale residential, community housing, education facilities, sports and leisure and resort projects.
Whatever the size of your project, we have specialists from our team of 40+ that can guide you through the design process. We support our services with a clear and cohesive design process. From briefing to project completion, including pre-purchase feasibility, site selection and contract administration, our goal is to provide an easy-to-follow and enjoyable experience.
An underlying philosophy at Pacific Environments is to promote environmentally sustainable and regenerative design. We believe that designing physical objects, the built environment and associated infrastructure to comply with the principles of social, economic and ecological sustainability are core to a constantly regenerating and self-sustaining ecosystem. Pacific Environments were early to adopt environmentally sustainable processes and methodologies in the practice, and were one of the founding signatories of New Zealand Architects Declare. As such, we are committed to strengthening our working practices to create architecture and urbanism that has a more positive impact on the world around us. We have recently joined Toitu Envirocare and are working towards becoming a certified carbon zero company by 2023.
The Pacific Environments team genuinely love what they do, our positive, energetic and ‘hands on’ approach along with a focus on understanding our clients’ needs means that we deliver tailored solutions, not generic answers.