This is the first Air Tahiti Nui reservations office in New Zealand, and has set a standard for their worldwide offices. The office is an efficient space while maintaining a strong corporate image.

Lighting and colour play key roles in capturing attention to draw people in, then the subtleties of texture and layering unfold.

Our client was keen to introduce Polynesian aspects which we interpreted in a modern way by using wonderful fabric and vinyl reminiscent of traditional weaving patterns as well as providing a niche for selected carvings.

A crisp, clean white was chosen to ensure the intense blues and greens did not dominate the space. Dark blue is one of the airlines main colour’s and hence was chosen as the carpet colour, this anchors the scheme and adds depth.

The large desk is practical and provides ample storage space for its users. It enables easy interaction with clients, so they can both view the computer screen.

Overall this office provides not only the functions required in an efficient manner, but it ensures the first step of their holiday is a warm, aesthetically pleasing experience.

This small site on the fringe of the city is bordered tightly by houses and provided a planning challenge to meet all the requirements of the clients.

The challenge was to create a exciting single level, functional house which would capture and respond to the sun. The home also needed to provide areas of privacy, while still functioning well for entertaining, maximising storage and providing garaging for two cars, all on a small 350m2 site!

This compact gem is well orientated for the sun and makes the most of the large neighbouring trees to the east, while ensuring the road to the west remains out of sight. The home has a generous central space which contains the living, dining and kitchen spaces. The roof over this area lifts up to let all day sun flood the living area and large sliding doors provide an effortless flow to the deck and courtyard spaces. All this combines into a fun, comfortable family home, perfect for all occasions.

This intriguing home is positioned on a tight, rear site, enclosed on all sides by an eclectic mix of suburban houses. The brief was to provide thermal comfort, privacy, connection with nature, flexibility for future uses such as a home office or grand-parent accommodation, and a sense of character to match the client.

The house consists of two plywood-clad boxes linked by a two-level ‘breeze-way’ with a tensioned membrane roof. The positioning of the boxes and ‘breeze-way’ creates a series of sheltered courtyards enabling a seat in the sun (or the shade) to be found at any time of the day. Large sliding cedar doors open on both sides of the lower ‘breeze-way’ to allow sunshine to pass through and create a large outdoor space as required. An existing mature weeping elm tree was retained to form a shady feature for the main courtyard garden. A carefully chosen mixture of materials and colours have been used internally to reflect the personality of the clients. These interesting materials include polished concrete with blue glass and white marble pieces, glass-covered shell storage in the floor, plywood ceilings and Jarrah flooring.

The brief for this home was for a family beach house which would be built in stages and eventually accommodate the future extended family including grandmother and future grand-children. Over a period of five years, all of the stages have now been completed.

Two simple building blocks were designed to create and protect an internal courtyard area which maximise the sun and views and provide privacy and shelter from the wind. The exterior utilises a mixture of natural, low maintenance cladding materials. Concrete block visually anchors the house and provide a sense of strength and permanence. This is balanced with lightweight, vertically grooved, plywood, aluminium window and door joinery and glass balustrading.

In plan the layout takes into consideration the available views, the path of the sun and the location of a large dune directly in front of the site. The kitchen and outdoor dining area have been centrally located and open out both to the beachfront and to the courtyard with a directness akin to that of camping and the flexibility to close off the prevalent winds when necessary.

The Stage II rear block and boardwalk have recently been completed to accommodate further family and guests, and to provide more storage and garaging for the cars, bikes and kayaks, and all the fun-making toys required at the beach!

This new five-bedroom house in Epsom required a Resource Consent for Historic Overlay aesthetic control.

Accordingly we designed this home to sit politely within its historic context, yet still with a subtly modern character. Using traditional gable forms and timber weatherboard cladding with crisp detailing, the design accentuates openness and orientation to the sun whilst providing a thermally comfortable, private interior.

The overall intention with the site and landscape design was to retain a large grassy front lawn (great for family cricket matches), and the existing grand old cherry tree, with the house set well-back on the site to create a generous sense of outdoor spaciousness.

Internally the palette of materials is rich and modern, with oak plank flooring, honed concrete block feature walls and a generous use of rich timber cabinetry. With the enclosed courtyard and covered outdoor terrace areas, the planning provides a sheltered sunny (or shady) outdoor space at any time of the day.

Once again we have designed and fully detailed the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry to complement and enhance the quality of the character and mood of the house.
Architecture Smith + Scully administered this building contract on behalf our clients to ensure a smooth process and the best possible quality outcome.

CLIENT COMMENTS:

“We absolutely loved working with Architecture Smith + Scully as they demystified the process, listened to our needs extremely accurately and gifted us a home that we feel extremely appreciative of and  grateful for – every day! I think their professional expertise was evidenced by the fact that we only made one minor change to the original design!

We love the fact that we can sit outside on three sides of the house, that there’s light (after a dark villa), I love my laundry (to the moon and back!) and the flow from room to room. We also enjoy being able to close the doors between spaces in the living areas – especially now that the boys have a PS4….!”

Situated on a narrow, beach front property, the house has been designed as two defined parts; one transparent to appreciate the sea view, the other solid to protect and enclose.

A central walkway links the two blocks and can be opened completely on both sides, enhancing the sense of openness and freedom.

The rear block is strong and formal, in solid concrete block, creating secure and private spaces for the bedrooms and bathrooms.

The front pavilion is lightweight and open with the roof tilting to welcome the sunshine, and provides an easy flow from inside to outside. This pavilion has a wonderful sense of freedom, connecting with the stunning views of the beach, the sea and beyond.

We have designed the kitchen and bathrooms to be understated and stylish yet at the same time, very practical, using a natural palette of timber veneers, stainless steel and white ceramic tiles.

This house has been designed to follow the contours of the site, to sit harmoniously and quietly within the landscape of Pohutukawa Trees and a small stream. These beautiful trees were transplanted into position to sit below the house, and became the view, and the privacy screen, for the occupants to enjoy.

The entry is from the upper, northern end where the building is constructed of substantial materials; banded concrete dry-block walls and polished concrete floors, for maximum passive solar gain and a sense of visual strength and permanence.

As the house descends to the lower part of the site it begins to float, treading more lightly on the ground in the more sensitive part of the site. The suspended legs of the house allow more of the natural vegetation to grow in around and under the house and create less visual and physical impact on the sensitive environment of the lower slope and stream.

Due to the south-facing slope of the site this house design incorporates outdoor areas opened onto by living spaces, both to the east and the north-west, allowing maximum enjoyment of morning and afternoon sun.

The exterior is mostly clad in black fibre cement panels, which visually recede behind the   Pohutukawa trees. Bursts of red in paneling and front door, balance with the black cladding to project a more welcoming character. Internally the palette is that of white walls, Meranti plywood feature panels, and cabinetry; with pops of colour in the kitchen and bathrooms to brighten up each day.

Set on a long and narrow site with glimpses of the sea, the house sits serenely in the somewhat eclectic context. In close proximity with neighbouring houses this project also had to address protected trees and a flood flow path across the site.

We have designed this house to maximize all opportunities for passive solar design, in this case, maximizing solar gain and views to the garden and the sea, whilst maintaining a high level of privacy.

Upon approach, the house appears modest and understated to the street. It is not until one is welcomed along the boardwalk and journey through the house that the spaces then open up and flow out to the garden and sunshine in a more relaxed fashion.

The layout and arrangement of various living areas creates the opportunity for changes of use as the family grows and needs change in the future.

The palette of materials has been kept very simple and natural – stained cedar weatherboards, with a burst of colour in the courtyard panelling. Double glazing, solar water-heating, inslab hydronic heating, and a high level of insulation, will ensure the owners are warm and comfortable all year round.

CLIENT COMMENTS

“[Building a new house was] somewhat daunting for us as this was our first ever building project, however Carolyn guided us through the whole process and once we were through the Council consent everything went very smoothly. Having an architect who understood what really mattered to us rather than things that may be nice to have but not essential really helped us to get the design right.

I love the light in the house – especially the entrance and the hall ways where you can see views of the rear garden and trees through the house. We enjoy the range of living spaces available – the house works well all year round – and our favourite spaces change depending on the season and weather. The other aspect we love is very practical – with high spec insulation and double glazing the house is warm in winter without much heating but is also cool in summer.”

BUILDER COMMENTS

“The crew at POCL and I have had the pleasure of working with Caro and S+S. They embody the team feeling in all involved which makes for a very enjoyable build, this is a formula for a great result. S&S are professional, respectful and create opportunity out of problems which brings about prompt resolution going forward. Their creative flair I feel is up there with all the notable designers whilst remaining grounded. Overall my team at POCL and I would recommend S&S to any prospective people wanting to take on a project. You will enjoy.” (George Levick, Priority One Construction)