This new house is built on a tight urban site, perched on the edge of a cliff 100metres above the ocean and facing due north. The design fits a compact 250m2 house for a family with 2 young children on a site of 556m2, between a 4 –storey apartment block and a large new house.
The primary challenge on this site was to achieve privacy from neighbouring dwellings, create a useable garden, and to maximise the stunning views, northern aspect and sea breezes.
The form of the house is defined by a series of distinct planes and surfaces. High masonry blade walls define the edges of the building reflecting the different angles and contours of the site and direct movement through the living rooms. The spaces on the ground floor are fluid and open-ended, the vertical walls, kitchen bench-top and tiled floor draw the eye northward to the view, where the building widens and southward to the walled garden, where the site narrows.
The geometry of the wedge shaped site has been reinforced by the building, following the logic of containment of the private garden and openness towards the northern sun, views, light and breezes.
The horizontal planes of floor and roof are equally important in directing the internal spaces toward the view, reflecting light and drawing the eye beyond the physical boundaries of the building, opening up to the sky and sea.