Houzz Tour: A Cross-Cultural Meet-Up Beside the Sea
When a Kiwi architect brings Japan home for his Spanish and Thai clients, magic is bound to happen
Clients that give their architect a beautiful brief, then leave the professional to figure out how to achieve that brief, deserve a beautiful house. That’s certainly what happened when photographer Jose Cano and his wife, make-up artist Kungy Gay, turned to David Wallace of Arthouse Architects to create a home above the sea on the outskirts of Nelson, for them and their teenage daughter. The Kashiwa House is poetic, sustainable and respects the land on which it sits, a clear example of the meeting of minds and cultures.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Jose Cano and Kungy Gay Cano, photographer and make-up artist, and their teenage daughter
Location: Nelson, New Zealand
Year built: 2014
Size: 256 square metres; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Architect: David Wallace, Arthouse Architects
Builders: Inch Building
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Jose Cano and Kungy Gay Cano, photographer and make-up artist, and their teenage daughter
Location: Nelson, New Zealand
Year built: 2014
Size: 256 square metres; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Architect: David Wallace, Arthouse Architects
Builders: Inch Building
Wallace’s response was deceptively simple: the long, low house looks modest, but is rich with detail. The site, a sloping few hectares overlooking Tasman Bay, had taken some finding. As expats, Jose and Kungy were used to being near public transport and handy to town, but they also wanted space for their dogs. And room for trees, plenty of trees – Jose says he is obsessed with planting.
The sloping site had been passed over by others because it had no road access, but Jose had also built roads into hard-to-access forests (he is an interesting man), so knew how to solve that. With Wallace, the couple chose a site that was tucked into the lee of the hill, protected from the wind, with views of the sea but not the road between.
The sloping site had been passed over by others because it had no road access, but Jose had also built roads into hard-to-access forests (he is an interesting man), so knew how to solve that. With Wallace, the couple chose a site that was tucked into the lee of the hill, protected from the wind, with views of the sea but not the road between.
For the Kashiwa (which means oak) House, Wallace created three modules rotating off an entry courtyard: a main north-facing wing to gather the sun and views, split by the entry porch, and an east-west wing that creates a sheltered courtyard. He anchored the entry with a spine of Waitaha stone from the nearby West Coast. Through the rest of the house he used a thoughtful palette of cedar for the exterior and joinery, European oak for the floors and birch ply for ceilings, highlighted by macrocarpa beams.
The Japanese-style entry is the pivot for the house. Visitors enter through the door to be greeted by sliding walls of glass, opening to the sheltered transition porch that frames views of Tasman Bay. To the left is Jose and Kungy’s studio, with the kitchen windows to the right, part of the main living wing. The birch-ply ceiling and cedar boards continue from inside to out, the spaces dissolving barriers.
A spine of bookshelves runs the length of the hallway, opening to glimpses of light. The architect dropped the ceilings in the more intimate spaces to create a sense of warmth and enclosure.
Wallace designed the whole house on a module of 2.4 metres, setting up a soothing rhythm that contributes to the serenity of the spaces. The raked ceilings meet clerestory windows to bring in northern light and vent heat in the summer.
The dropped ceiling frames the outlook to the courtyard, and the stone fireplace wall anchors the room.
The kitchen was one of the most important rooms for Jose and Kungy. They love their food and both love to cook. But they were adamant that they didn’t want smells of spices and frying penetrating the rest of the house, so Wallace’s solution was to frame the kitchen in glass, with sliding windows to open for serving and socialising. They can be shut down while Jose and Kungy are working, allowing them to remain in view of their guests. The elegant cabinets are a modern glass twist on a Japanese tansu.
An industrial-strength extractor fan and a commercial oven work hard to create the couple’s favourite cuisines. The Canos opted for commercial-kitchen-quality stainless-steel benches and splashback, but continued the warmth of the birch ply in the cabinets.
Both client and architect sing the praises of Waimea West Joinery, who built all the cabinets, shelves, windows and doors with real craft. The kitchen has become the couple’s favourite place for relaxing.
Both client and architect sing the praises of Waimea West Joinery, who built all the cabinets, shelves, windows and doors with real craft. The kitchen has become the couple’s favourite place for relaxing.
The cook’s-eye view of the living room enjoys the careful material palette. Open shelves are perfect for displaying the couple’s collection of dishes and teacups.
Off the main living wing is a further wing of bedrooms (to the left of the picture, through the glass doors). It wraps around to protect the courtyard from the wind that can sometimes be fierce off the Tasman Bay and Sea.
Although the courtyard is tucked between the wings of the house, the glass doors create a transparent edge, so people can still enjoy the sunsets. There is a small water feature for cooling sounds in the summer, and raised beds for the family vegetable garden.
Jose and Kungy are delighted with the entire house, but when pressed Jose says that the studio is his favourite spot. He likes to go there before dawn to read and watch the sun come up before the day of phone calls and running around takes over.
The New Zealand-designed Pyroclassic fireplace met the couple’s strict eco-criteria; it’s the cleanest-burning wood fire and is locally made too. Jose had planted dozens of trees on the property already, which will come on stream in a few years for coppicing to supply their entire firewood needs. The family has now installed a second Pyroclassic in the living room, because it’s so lovely and warm. As well as passive solar heating and cooling, the house also has photovoltaic cells for electricity and two giant water tanks. The family runs an electric car too.
The New Zealand-designed Pyroclassic fireplace met the couple’s strict eco-criteria; it’s the cleanest-burning wood fire and is locally made too. Jose had planted dozens of trees on the property already, which will come on stream in a few years for coppicing to supply their entire firewood needs. The family has now installed a second Pyroclassic in the living room, because it’s so lovely and warm. As well as passive solar heating and cooling, the house also has photovoltaic cells for electricity and two giant water tanks. The family runs an electric car too.
Even the utility room is beautifully crafted, with a balance of ply, cedar and stone.
Wallace designed the master bedroom to be a sanctuary. As well as providing storage, the bedhead ‘shelters’ the bed from the closets to further enhance the separation of the bedroom from busy household life.
With their love of Japan, it was no surprise that the couple needed a bathroom that was as serene and contemplative as the rest of the house.
The Canos had imported the artisan-crafted tub from Japan for their previous house, and, as is the custom, brought it with them to the new house. With views across Tasman Bay, this is Jose and Kungy’s evening unwinding spot. They shower in the wet room (on the right edge of the photo), then relax and talk in the tub together as the sun goes down.
Many of the artisanal touches around the house were conceived between architect, client and joiner. Jose particularly wanted round posts to hold up the porch roof. These are not available in the proportions Wallace designed, so were custom turned from ancient jarrah imported from Australia. He designed the finely shaped rafters and the steel bolts were highlighted in black, demonstrating the honest structure of the house.
The 2.4-metre modules were delineated on the deck too, with the subtle insertion of a vertical board. Wallace designed the overhang to shelter the house from harsh summer evening sun, while still admitting the warming rays in the winter.
“David has these simply beautiful ideas; they’re so simple but so elegant,” says Jose. “It’s been a very nice process, like making music. All these things are repeated, like an elegantly written composition.”
TELL US
Do you like the blend of east and local styles in the design of the Kashiwa house? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
TELL US
Do you like the blend of east and local styles in the design of the Kashiwa house? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
They focused on sustainability, using timber, their favourite material, without constraining the architect with ‘this room must go here’, although it did have to accommodate a studio for the pair’s business. It helped that both architect and client loved the Japanese aesthetic (the Canos travelled extensively around Asia when they were living in Thailand for a decade, and fell in love with Japan), and that as artists they respected a fellow artist.