Faced with a small budget and big design ideas, the PAC Studio team sweated each and every detail, seeking the most efficient plan possible to create this beautifully designed space
Q&A with Sarosh Mulla and Aaron Paterson of PAC Studio
A modest home and a generous cabin, this is a stripped-back design for PAC. Talk us through its workings.
Sarosh Mulla: We don’t believe that money should be a barrier to good design. PAC Studio has a reputation for making obsessively detailed houses, and the Pahi house is no exception. Instead of concentrating on crafted and labour-intensive detailing – not possible given the budget – we put our energy into the equally rewarding pursuit of efficient and compact planning, with a generosity of volume and light. Much of our energy was spent on the proportion of rooms, positioning of windows and abiding by a relentless grid module.
[gallery_link num_photos=”7″ media=”https://www.homemagazine.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/HE0220_H_Pahi-Exterior.jpg” link=”/real-homes/home-tours/rural-retreat-kaipara-harbour-tiny-budget” title=”Read more about this home here”]
What materials have you used and why?
Aaron Paterson For the exterior, we used shiplap cladding from Abodo, a New Zealand-owned company that makes sustainably grown, thermally modified timber that’s perfect for harsh environments like Pahi. The roof is a classic dark-green metal profile, and aluminium joinery is nice if you get the proportions right. For the interior, we used painted plywood floors that gives texture without breaking the bank. Ubiquitous plasterboard kept the cost down. We need to give a shout-out to nature for being awesome; we didn’t want to spoil the entry vibe with a concrete driveway, so we went with local gravel.
Building on a budget is tough in this country. Do you see any foreseeable change to that scenario?
Sarosh Mulla: Prefabrication offers efficiency and cost savings that have not been fully realised in the single-house market – this will change. Both labour and materials are expensive due to our small market size, and while the market is buoyant, the cost to build will remain high. The good news is that intelligent design can save money.
See more of the home below
