This home on a rural block on Auckland’s North Shore, designed by Sayes Jackson Architects, is composed of grand gestures and exceptional detailing.
The drive up to the new house involves manoeuvring along a steep driveway that splits into two shortly before arrival. It was a little lower on this hill that the owners built a large family home many decades ago. They got deeply involved with regenerative native bush planting the large section, carving DOC-inspired trails around the site, and populating much of the land with outdoor sculptures.
“Because their kids are now adults, the big family home didn’t really make sense any more,” says Nick Sayes of Sayes Jackson Architects. “They had already worked through a subdivision of the property to create the lot at the top of the hill, which is nurtured by the protective bush around it.”
This vantage point allows them a commanding view of the land below, as well as a visual “connection to their past” on this land, according to Sayes.
The impetus for the new 300 square-metre house was a “kind of simplifying,” says Sayes, “looking for a lower maintenance, more manageable house.”
Nick’s business partner, Luke Jackson, agrees. “The new place needed to complement their current lifestyle.”
The Auckland-based firm was approached by one of the owners’ sons, an architect himself, whose background allowed him to provide a very concise and clear architecturally translated brief.
A core part of this was that there needed to be two ends to the house — one for guests and one for the couple who lives here.Jackson says they responded to this by crafting two seemingly independent — but interconnected — gabled volumes.
The eastern one contains the main bedroom, “with a very private, internal view very much directed towards that adjacent bush”.
The western wing is reserved for guests, allowing it to be essentially closed off during normal operations.
An important aspect of this build was the inclusion of a separate barn, where the owners keep the tools for land maintenance, their hobby paraphernalia (classic Minis and sporting gear), and the like.
The functional requirements of this space were significant: openings at both ends to make getting in and out with large equipment or trailers a little easier, automatic doors, sufficient lighting, a large workbench, and plenty of storage.
Given the proximity of this building to the living quarters — you arrive via a driveway that separates the two buildings — the architects focused on both the grand, compositional gestures that allowed buildings to interact with each other (the courtyard, proximity, and hierarchy) and the detailing to wrap the utilitarian garage with as much beauty and care as the main residence.
“Architecturally, it is really just about keeping things simple,” explains Sayes. “We used familiar forms: rural, barn-like gables, clad in materials that are in some ways ‘obvious’, such as cedar boards and tray profile metals.”
The beauty, however, is in the detailing. Although at first sight this house seems like a simple resolution, the details reveal a well-thought-out plan and highly crafted construction.
Firewood storage is hidden behind a secret door that almost perfectly blends with the façade. The cedar planks are held together crisply on the centre of the gables by a single flashing.
The space between the buildings and the ground on this sloping site has been resolved with meticulous attention to each curve and variation, the continuous negative space making it seem as if the buildings are floating above the ground. Windows and gutters are recessed so as not to detract from the purity of the gabled form.
Even retaining walls have been treated with a certain flair so that, although their purpose is not hidden, they become cohesive engineering additions to a design intent.
“It’s that kind of simplicity that makes it a calm space,” says Jackson. “It could easily have become very busy and utilitarian; although it has got a bit of drama, it’s not to the point of being overwhelming.”
An equal amount of care has been granted to the interiors. Oiled oak and soft natural tones abound here. Walls of bagged clay brick seemingly bookend both the east and western wings, and extend from indoors to outdoors. This lighter colouration softens the otherwise dark materials here and adds yet another element of beauty and tactility to the architecture.
The entry sequence includes a small gallery hallway that adds a touch of magic to the space. Brass accents throughout the house — including a stunning pivoting door — will eventually develop a patina.
This is a rural retreat that succeeds on many grand and small levels; a deceptively simple set of gabled forms that, to the careful observer, reveals a wealth of subtle but enjoyable moments.
“It’s certainly bespoke, but it’s not trying to find any new, unthought languages,” explains Sayes. “It’s really just trying to make familiar moves, but do them really well and cleanly. They’re not loud details, just really subtle accents that may go unnoticed, but that overall, I believe, contribute to the whole.”
