Screen House

RESIDENTIAL

• PROJECT

  Glendowie House

• LOCATION

  Glendowie, Auckland

• STATUS

  Completed

• AWARDS

  • NZ Institute of Architects Auckland Award 2010

  • Home New Zealand - Home of the Year 2008 Finalist

“… a cleverly crafted plan and section, expands the potential for domestic life.”

-NZIA Award citation

Responding to the constraints of the site, the house is sited between a natural edge created by the steep bush clad cliff that rolls down to Karaka Bay and the sinuous road that the house fronts onto. Built right up to the front yard set-back, the kink the road is reflected in the form of the building.

A dark stained veil of variegated cedar wraps and protects the front of the house from the busy road that it faces. The screen also performs the function of masking the stepped form of the building on the southern elevation, which is the result of the height to boundary constraints.

Two cut-outs or recesses in this kinked frontage allow entry into the building. One recess is for the garage door and other is for the front entry which is hidden from view behind the screen to allow privacy but also to shelter the entry from the prevailing south-westerly wind.

Frosted glass provides privacy at the front of the house but still allows western light to penetrate deep into the building. The shadow of the timber screen’s frayed edges through the frosted glass provides a beautiful silhouette with the afternoon light.

An open timber and steel stair winds up through a triple-height space from the garage level to the main living level and then up to another two levels. The view of the stair is filtered through layers of a stainless steel mesh screen hanging from the ceiling between the stairs and a dark stained timber screen.

The lower living level opens out onto a honed concrete terrace area with views of Browns Island and Karaka Bay.