Taiapa Valley House

This is an environmentally conscious house located in the coastal township of Muriwai, on the west coast near Auckland. The interior spaces are arranged to provide amphitheatre-like views of young kauri forest, manuka and kanuka bush, green pastures, and native bird-life.

The client wanted a building that reminded her of the housing typologies that she came to know growing up in England and the design thinking had to put environment first. It also needed to provide quiet sanctuary for two independent adults.

On the outside, warm natural materials were chosen to allow the building to sit comfortably in its natural environment. The selected brick was made "locally" in Hamilton (not shipped from Australia), reducing carbon footprint. The brick is wrapped around the house like a cloak on the three sides facing the neighbouring properties to form a noise barrier.

Simple passive solar design strategies are employed to minimise energy consumption. The roof design is optimised to maximise sun/solar-gain during winter months and provide ample shade over the summer. Clerestory windows are arranged to provide high quality natural daylighting throughout. To reduce heating and cooling demand, we stepped up the amount of insulation, well over and above the minimum requirements of the building code. Instead of building the biggest building we could, we chose to build small but at higher quality - less building that lasts longer, means less resource extraction / harm on the environment.

The two bedrooms are located at opposite ends of the house for privacy. To contain living area noise, acoustically designed walls seperate the bedrooms from the living spaces.

Overview

Location: Muriwai, Auckland
Status: Completed