Full resort
Concrete and cedar combine in an evocative clifftop refuge by Daniel Marshall Architects in Tāmakimakaurau Auckland.
WORDS Cassie Doherty PHOTOGRAPHY Hamish Melville
The front door by Fineline Joinery makes a grand statement at the entry. It’s a custom made western red cedar pivot door, using high-end FritsJurgens pivot gear, with glazed sidelights and a hardwood iroko sill.
It was the homeowner’s brother, living half a world away in China, who came across the work of Daniel Marshall in Tāmakimakaurau Auckland and suggested the architect to his sister for her potential new family home. It was a perfect match, with Daniel devising a functional, comfortable Asia-Pacific-inspired home with a resort feel.
“It’s a fusion between Oceania and Asian culture in New Zealand,” says Daniel, “with a real connection with the landscape.”
That landscape is a waterfront site in Auckland’s popular Takapuna. It sits atop the cliffs just along from the beach, with cinematic views of the Hauraki Gulf, Rangitoto Island and the busy to-and-fro of the shipping lane. “As a location, it’s pretty amazing.”
The property is a narrow rectangle accessed via a long driveway. The seaward side is anchored with a barrier pile wall, and the new house is prudently sited as far back from the edge as possible. There had been an original house here, dilapidated yet still providing clues to its replacement. It had been built possibly in the 1930s or 40s, and was by Gummer and Ford, prominent designers of many notable Auckland heritage buildings, including the Domain Wintergardens and St Peter’s College in Grafton. Sadly it was in a very rundown condition and had been badly altered over the decades. But it had beautiful copper spouting, which is reflected in the updated version used on the house today, and it also influenced some layout choices.
“There was a sort of occlusion on the north-eastern side of the house – very small, only half a room’s width – and it was so sheltered, sunny and private. So I thought that should be the strategy we should take.” Daniel created a courtyard space in that same spot, finessing the dimensions to create better coastal outlooks all the way along the side of the house.
The brief from the homeowner was comprehensive, with a lot of requirements to allow for modern, multigenerational living. There are five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a gym, garaging, spa and pool and more. On the street side, enjoying a separate entry, is an office and a tea room: a space for entertaining, relaxing and pastimes such as mahjong.
Daniel describes the layout as a series of experiences, influenced by the feng shui principle that the chi should not run straight through a house. “You’re curving around and discovering new parts.” The stunning vistas are generously allowed throughout the house in what he calls a series of constant adventures. Two double-height void spaces create a feeling of openness within and provide their own internal sightlines. “Those are views too; it’s about returning inwards as well.”
Architect Daniel Marshall was pleased with the effect of the pendant lights in the double-height void in the entrance/ stairwell. They are La-De-Da pendants in both the 750 and 450 sizes by Nightworks Studio in Christchurch, designed to playfully disrupt architectural lines.
The staircase in eye-catching raw steel was fabricated by Pengelly Engineers. It was a challenging undertaking, with some of the sheets weighing over 300kg. Careful installation prevents any warping, and millimetre-perfect detailing ensures every line lands flush.
The custom made kitchen, scullery and bar cabinetry were built by Cronin Kitchens Ltd, in collaboration with kitchen designer Morgan Cronin.
A resort-style home needs to be comfortable, and that means layers of function. “Making the services and infrastructure, such as air-conditioning and underfloor heating, look simple and effortless takes a huge amount of effort.”
A harmonious Asian-Pacific feel was front of mind when it came to material choices, as was the ocean-side locale. “The copper, the cedar and the precast concrete, they’re all materials that are incredibly resilient for the coast, and they all go together. If you can get the balance between the warmth of the timber and the earthiness of the concrete, it works really well.”
A robust front to the water was vital, and materials that would weather and age with grace, as well as complement the surrounding landscapes, were essential. Daniel says nowadays the winds can come from any direction. “You can get these westerlies that are quite intense,” he says, so sheltering eaves and covered areas had to be well considered. The trick, he says, is in arranging the building’s forms as simply as possible, despite the multitudes of controls, conditions and restrictions.
Functionality was a key component of creating effortless living for a large, multigenerational home. Forge Kitchens supplied bespoke cabinetry throughout the house, including bathrooms and wardrobes. The bathroom vanities have stained oak veneers and leathered Natural Taj Mahal Quartzite benchtops.
Microcement surfacing by specialists Solid State Concrete gives the sophisticated look of polished concrete without joins or cracks. An ideal finish for bathrooms, it’s seamless, durable and available in any colour.
Inside, it was important that the materials reflected the exteriors. Team members Timothy Yang and Shiqi Shelley Lin worked closely with the homeowner on this, says Daniel. “It was about taking the ideas from the orm and materiality of the house and having them at a tactile level. Some of the stone and tile choices are really elegant and lead into an Asian aesthetic that is very much of New Zealand as well. It was a fun process.”
Daniel loved working on this project with these homeowners. “It’s about trying to read what people’s aspirations are, what they really want out of a house, that’s the hard part. They were very respectful of our point of view, which I very much appreciate, but they also had very strong ideas themselves.”
Add to that a mix of very skilled trades and craftspeople, and it’s no wonder the end result is luxurious, elegant and cohesive. “All those things have come together in this perfect kind of synergy. We had a great team who were open to ideas and happy to work with us on the overall vision. It’s a rare confluence.”
Involved in this project
ARCHITECT
Daniel Marshall Architect
09 354 3587
dma.nz
KITCHEN CABINET MAKER & BENCHTOP
Cronin Kitchens
09 813 6192
croninkitchens.co.nz
PENDANT LIGHTING ENTRANCE AREA
Nightworks Studio
0800 568 369
nightworksstudio.com
WARDROBE & BATHROOMS CABINET MAKER
Forge Kitchens
027 254 0015
forgekitchens.co.nz
INTERIOR PLASTERER
Solid State Concrete
021 276 7320
solidstateconcrete.co.nz
TIMBER FRONT DOOR
Fineline Joinery
09 836 2212
finelinejoinery.co.nz
EXTERIOR PLASTER FINISH
Resene Construction Systems
BK Textures
reseneconstruction.co.nz
CERTIFIED STRUCTURAL STEEL AND METALWORKS
Pengelly Engineers
027 252 7606
pengellyengineers.co.nz
The Resene Construction Systems Masonry Render System was chosen to perfectly balance the materiality of the concrete and cedar exterior.
