Houzz Tour: Beauty in the Bush
A firefighter builds a house on a steep site in Auckland that gently nods to the mid-century houses of the area
Simon Farrell-Green
11 June 2016
This home was a labour of love for its firefighter owner: after buying the land and commissioning Megan Edwards to design a new house for it, he and his builder father set about building the place themselves on days off. It took three years to build, another couple to finish – and the results are beautiful. “He’s very connected to this house,” says Edwards.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A firefighter and his wife, and their two teenaged children
Location: Titirangi, Auckland
Designer: Megan Edwards Architects
Year built: 2009 to 2014
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A firefighter and his wife, and their two teenaged children
Location: Titirangi, Auckland
Designer: Megan Edwards Architects
Year built: 2009 to 2014
Photos by Sam Hartnett Photography
The house is built on an incredibly steep site in Titirangi – deep in the regenerating native bush of the Waitakere Ranges, about 25 minutes’ drive from central Auckland. Since the 1930s, the area has been a home to creative types – artists and architects, potters and writers have made their homes here. There’s a long tradition of small, thoughtful houses tucked away in the trees – houses that drew on international trends, but sought to create an architecture that related to what it meant to live at the bottom of the world.
The house is built on an incredibly steep site in Titirangi – deep in the regenerating native bush of the Waitakere Ranges, about 25 minutes’ drive from central Auckland. Since the 1930s, the area has been a home to creative types – artists and architects, potters and writers have made their homes here. There’s a long tradition of small, thoughtful houses tucked away in the trees – houses that drew on international trends, but sought to create an architecture that related to what it meant to live at the bottom of the world.
In the 13 years that Edwards has lived in the area, she’s researched a number of them – so when it came to designing a new house for the family, she was conscious that there was already a strong architectural tradition to draw on. It helped that the clients had found her through a particularly lovely renovation of a villa in Mt Eden, in which she integrated a long, low room built from concrete and ply into a humble villa. It was this aesthetic her clients were drawn to. “They didn’t want something that would date,” she says. “And they wanted it to feel like it could have been here longer.”
Designing this house, however, was quite a different discipline to the renovations of humble villas and bungalows for which she has become known in recent years. “It was just this really steep site so the design fell out quite easily – there was only a bit you could build on,” Edwards says.
Designing this house, however, was quite a different discipline to the renovations of humble villas and bungalows for which she has become known in recent years. “It was just this really steep site so the design fell out quite easily – there was only a bit you could build on,” Edwards says.
Edwards massed the house in two layers near the street, which meant she would be able to stack up the different parts of the house – all in all, there are five levels under one monopitch roof. It also allowed her to create subtly different spaces with changing ceiling heights – high in the living areas, lower in the bedrooms – and a gentle interplay of light and shadow.
The roof follows the gentle slope of the street in one direction, but rises away from the land in the other, dragging in plenty of morning and afternoon light to the living areas. While the language of the house – vertical cedar weatherboards on the outside, ply and timber and white-painted walls on the inside – is familiar to anyone with an affection for mid-century New Zealand homes, the roof gives it a contemporary wink. There’s something in the place that makes you pause: it’s familiar, yet different. “The big expression of the roof relates a bit to shelter,” Edwards says, “but I wanted it to be a contemporary house as well.”
The roof follows the gentle slope of the street in one direction, but rises away from the land in the other, dragging in plenty of morning and afternoon light to the living areas. While the language of the house – vertical cedar weatherboards on the outside, ply and timber and white-painted walls on the inside – is familiar to anyone with an affection for mid-century New Zealand homes, the roof gives it a contemporary wink. There’s something in the place that makes you pause: it’s familiar, yet different. “The big expression of the roof relates a bit to shelter,” Edwards says, “but I wanted it to be a contemporary house as well.”
To get inside, you walk along a series of poured concrete steps, past native planting to a couple of bunker-like protrusions clad in horizontal rather than vertical weatherboards, and with wooden rather than aluminium joinery. It’s the only place the house breaks the roof plane, and creates a simple, humble kind of entrance that suited the low-key nature of the clients.
“My husband always used to joke that when I next got a new house, I’d have to imagine a villa on it first to know what to do,” says Edwards. “And then I was looking at this house the other day and I thought, ‘Golly I’ve designed a bit of a vestigial villa’.”
“My husband always used to joke that when I next got a new house, I’d have to imagine a villa on it first to know what to do,” says Edwards. “And then I was looking at this house the other day and I thought, ‘Golly I’ve designed a bit of a vestigial villa’.”
Central to Edwards’ plan for the house was a double-height, living volume that is flooded with light. The front door comes in past the open-plan kitchen, while high-level windows pull in plenty of morning light without exposing the house to the street. Beside that is a long, narrow wing that follows the street, with three bedrooms and a bathroom above and a garage, workshop and laundry below. And off the living room, down a few steps, there’s a snug, den-like living area with big windows looking out into the bush and a fireplace. Above that, the master bedroom and bathroom.
It’s a finely wrought, carefully planned house – by parts open and closed, giving the family spaces to hide but also spaces to be together.
It’s a finely wrought, carefully planned house – by parts open and closed, giving the family spaces to hide but also spaces to be together.
Key to that is a deliberately internal feeling to the living areas. “There’s something a bit spooky about the bush, all those dark colours,” says Edwards. “So that space has got quite a bit of wall in it for a family room, it’s quite cavey. But you’ve got the high-level windows that bring in morning light.”
Despite the steep site, Edwards was determined to make the house feel safe. “I wanted it not to feel scary,” says Edwards. “You could have milked that, and brought the glass down to the floor and enjoyed the vertigo – but we didn’t, because I wanted it to feel safe.”
Despite the steep site, Edwards was determined to make the house feel safe. “I wanted it not to feel scary,” says Edwards. “You could have milked that, and brought the glass down to the floor and enjoyed the vertigo – but we didn’t, because I wanted it to feel safe.”
But even this house had a precursor: in the 1970s, Edwards’ father built the family a pole house that had a big open volume in it, with a sleeping loft above. “I thought that was fantastic in terms of creating a family feeling and a sense of connection,” she says.
In early designs, she explored opening up the wall between the master bedroom (clad with timber here) and the living volume – which would have been spectacular, except for the owner’s odd sleeping hours, which meant he needed a very quiet room in which to sleep.
In early designs, she explored opening up the wall between the master bedroom (clad with timber here) and the living volume – which would have been spectacular, except for the owner’s odd sleeping hours, which meant he needed a very quiet room in which to sleep.
Edwards wrapped the staircase and the back wall of the bedroom in timber parking, which continues down and around a few steps into the den. Centred around the fireplace, it’s a cosy area with a lower ceiling than the main living area; it’s also carpeted. You can see the thoughtful detailing in the stone hearth, which continues along to become one of the stairs – it’s these kinds of details that really make the house feel special. “The sloping of the roof creates a lovely openness,” says Edwards, “but you can also fit those layers in quite easily. It’s quite nice, because you get that snuggly sort of room.”
The house is that rare thing, managing to be private while still engaging nicely with the street – helped by the fact that there is no front fence. Narrow, high windows bring light into the top-floor hallway and downstairs workshop area, without making the house feel like a fishbowl. From this side, the angle of the roof follows the street – which gives it a friendly sort of presence.
Instead, the front wall of the house is effectively the boundary, with low planting running out to the road (which has no footpath). The curious line of nikau – a native New Zealand palm often found in bush areas – were already on site, though clearly planted by human hands.
Instead, the front wall of the house is effectively the boundary, with low planting running out to the road (which has no footpath). The curious line of nikau – a native New Zealand palm often found in bush areas – were already on site, though clearly planted by human hands.
Because the building platform was so narrow, Edwards received permission from the local council to build it much closer to the street than would otherwise have been allowed – this was a practical move, but it also meant they had to cut down fewer trees on the site. The native kanuka you can see here in the foreground was on the site already. “It’s such a painterly tree, I love how the light comes through them,” says Edwards. “We did want to try to keep a couple more on the street side than we managed to, but it is pretty much dropped into the site, with very little disturbance.”
The land was also unstable – at some point, part of the land had slipped down to the stream below, so the house sits on piles sunk 12m into the ground. The water collected by the roof, meanwhile, runs down into one rainhead at the end of the gutter, and then drops down into massive water tanks under the house to be distributed gently down the slope and into the stream.
The land was also unstable – at some point, part of the land had slipped down to the stream below, so the house sits on piles sunk 12m into the ground. The water collected by the roof, meanwhile, runs down into one rainhead at the end of the gutter, and then drops down into massive water tanks under the house to be distributed gently down the slope and into the stream.
The hallway runs along the back of the house – you can see the shafts of light from those long narrow windows across the carpet. The roof plane created some interesting angles at this point in the house – as a result, the glass doors leading to the hall and bedrooms have raked tops. You can see the enormous care – and skill – that went into the place in the intricately latticed timber beside the stairs.
In keeping with the rest of the design, even the hallway here isn’t straightforward – it telescopes slightly as you carry along it, making it feel longer than it really is. “I’ve been quite a rectilinear girl,” says Edwards. “but it worked out fine. It doesn’t feel awkward.”
In keeping with the rest of the design, even the hallway here isn’t straightforward – it telescopes slightly as you carry along it, making it feel longer than it really is. “I’ve been quite a rectilinear girl,” says Edwards. “but it worked out fine. It doesn’t feel awkward.”
The fall of the roof is quite apparent in the bedrooms, where the ceilings fall at a different angle to the walls, creating what Edwards describes as “kite-like ceilings. It gives them a little bit of interest – you feel quite enclosed by that roof when you’re underneath it.”
At the far end of the hall is a third living room, which can also work as a bedroom – the family uses this as a TV room, well away from the main living areas – but also a place where the kids can make noise without worrying about waking their firefighter father.
A beautifully dark stairwell, meanwhile, leads down from the living area to the garage, laundry and workshop. Climbing these stairs, and popping out into the double-height living space, is a singularly delightful experience.
It’s not all completely internal, though – a generous deck, reached through the lower-level living room, sits quietly above the bush – the tops of the native ferns soften the ground below, while you sit looking out through the tops of the kanuka. It’s a lovely spot, drenched in afternoon light that filters down through the trees.
Finishing the house was a labour of love for the owner, who had a very tight budget. It was an unusual arrangement for Edwards, who is known for her careful selection of builders and other trades. The client and his father built the whole house – though a joiner made the joinery, and the cabinet maker – Neville Barnett of AQS Furniture, who Edwards has worked with on a number of projects – built the kitchen and a lot of the storage through the house.
“It was quite different because you can’t say, ‘Well I really want it like this’,” says Edwards of having the client act as builder. In this case, she waived her usual fee for managing the build, instead dropping by to talk things through with the client when she needed to. As a result, it was more of a discussion. “We’d just pop in whenever they had a question. That created quite a friendly atmosphere, so it worked out well.”
At night, the thoughtful placement of windows becomes even more obvious – the place doesn’t give much away from the street, but there are hints through the windows of the life inside – an angle into the kitchen, or the view of the sarked timber wall in the living area. Not surprisingly, this gentle treatment saw the house receive an award at the most recent New Zealand Institute of Architects awards for the Auckland region.
All of which is a bit irrelevant to its occupants, who are happily ensconced in the place. “It’s just amazing what a good job they did,” says Edwards. “Sometimes I felt a bit guilty, that I’d designed this quite complex house because it took them a long time to build it – all the raking walls and things in parallel. But they were quite into the geometry.”
TELL US
Would you consider building your own house? Tell us in the Comments.
TELL US
Would you consider building your own house? Tell us in the Comments.
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Well done Megan Edwards, your designs are incredible
I live in a timber house, it's over 100years old and I did not want knock down and rebuild . I am putting an extension to it and it is all made of timber.Well done Meagan.