Houzz Tours
Sustainable Homes
Houzz Tour: Eastern Philosophy Meets Sustainability in a Modern Mash-Up
An Auckland home immerses itself in nature and the Sthapatya Veda architectural discipline to stunning effects
Homeowners Peta and Joe Davy believe in Sthapatya Veda, which is an architectural discipline that is mentioned in 5000-year-old Sanskrit scripts. It is described as the science and art of creating structures where every part is in accord with the whole. As such, it incorporates essential elements of sustainable design. With the help of a talented architect and a Vedic consultant, the couple constructed their home in Auckland following this discipline that fits with their modern lifestyles.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple and their two young boys
Location: Mangere Bridge, Auckland, New Zealand
Size: 162 square metres; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple and their two young boys
Location: Mangere Bridge, Auckland, New Zealand
Size: 162 square metres; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
The parameters of Sthapatya Veda include correct orientation of the dwelling, the right placement of rooms within it, and a design that follows precise proportions. This home is north facing and the kitchen, seen here through a ribbon window that follows the horizontal line of the recycled cladding, is to the east. “Cooking should be done facing East, since when the sun rises, its energy is most nourishing,” says Peta. The low timber wall that runs around the perimeter is called the ‘vasta’ and it surrounds and protects the property. Although the home is only 20 minutes from the city, it feels like rural living.
Inside, concrete floors combined with a roof pitch that captures every last drop of winter sun mean the wet-back fireplace is seldom used. Behind it, the bricks absorb heat and release it slowly into the room. An industrial feel created by the concrete and brick is softened by kitchen cabinetry in a yellow-toned Koto veneer, which lay unwanted in a stockist’s yard for 12 years. It’s set against a black backdrop to emphasise its lightness and striated grain.
The bar stools at the kitchen bench are a favourite buy from Cintesi, while the pendant lights are from BoConcept. The dining table top was made by Kauri Warehouse from the same recycled power poles that feature as cladding on the exterior of the home.
The bar stools at the kitchen bench are a favourite buy from Cintesi, while the pendant lights are from BoConcept. The dining table top was made by Kauri Warehouse from the same recycled power poles that feature as cladding on the exterior of the home.
A study nook and office is slotted into an alcove (behind the wet-back fireplace). The swivel chair was a vintage find on the website Trade Me, on which Peta replaced the wheels. “I picked up the principles of living in a sustainable way from my father who is a real ‘greenie’,” she says.
Honey-toned tawa flooring has been repurposed from a 1950s bungalow. The slim-line planks lend a fine elegance to the narrow footprint. The tawa also features on the walls and sliding internal doors. “To save space, we specified no hinged doors,” says Peta. This door leads to the bathroom where a sunny yellow palette (Resene’s ‘Wazzup’) brings a sense of fun to family living. The ‘brahmasthan’, a square of flooring which marks the central axis of the house, lies just outside this sliding door. “In Vedic tradition, it is seen as a silent core that should never be walked on,” explains Peta.
The colour scheme throughout the home is a consistent white and grey, with accents of yellow. Recycled tawa was used to create a bedhead in the master bedroom and the lighting has been cleverly built in. “I think that the imperfections in recycled timbers give the home an instant familiarity that some modern houses lack.” Felted wool carpets lend a wonderful textural feel underfoot and the room has an ensuite and walk-in wardrobe
The Vedic dictum is that the toilets and sinks should face north. Rainwater collected from a tank on the property feeds the toilets. “I wanted the ensuite to feel like a cave, so I found tiles that looked like stone,” says Peta.
Brick walls anchor the house and form a strong part of the aesthetics in the bedrooms. The couple believe in re-using materials and the Monier bricks were seconds that once had a yellow rumbled surface. Peta knew she was going to paint them white and she asked her bricklayer to lay them with the front surface facing inwards.
Built-in bunks give the boys more room to play when friends come over. Many of the furnishings in the home are secondhand or inherited. The couple are keen to teach their boys the ‘green’ values of re-using and recycling. “I always look on sites such as Trade Me first to see if someone has something they aren’t using. You can sell a new product on its green qualities, but nothing is more green than secondhand,” says Peta.
Resene’s ‘Half Gravel’ is on the walls in the family bathroom. The bath was an end-of-line Victoria & Albert model from Robertson. “It is made to be set on a cradle, but I like the exposed base,” says Peta. Solar panels installed on the north-facing roof above the rear bedroom wing power a hot water system that works efficiently. “All four of us can have a shower in the morning and there’s more than enough warmth to last.”
The east-west axis of the home has an uninterrupted flow (with no doors blocking the energy), which is consistent with Vedic philosophy. The couple and McLeay opted to include no flush-mounted ceiling lights since this compromises the insulation. Instead they used either fluorescent tubing or low-energy LED spots.
Deep yellow-cedar soffits provide much-needed shade in summer, while the high louvre windows allow natural ventilation. Sitting on the deck is a magical and ever-changing experience. In the birds’ breeding season, some 2000 oystercatchers flock to the paddock right in front of the Davy’s outdoor living room. In the mornings, the boys saunter across the paddocks of the adjacent Lost Garden and Ambury Farm to the local school, passing sheep and cows as they go.
TELL US
What do you like about this home that follows Vedic philosophy? Let us know in the Comments section.
TELL US
What do you like about this home that follows Vedic philosophy? Let us know in the Comments section.
Peta, an interior designer for Yellowfox, then collaborated with Vedic consultant Neil Hamill and architectural designer Mark McLeay of Creative Arch, to create a home that melds green thinking with ancient Eastern design knowledge in a completely contemporary way. “This house feels very grounded and linked to the environment,” says Peta. “It is exactly how it looked in my mind; I walked through it so many times in my head lying awake in bed before we built it.”
The structure of the home is essentially a brick box, shielded on its east and west face by a striking wooden coat made from recycled power poles. “There aren’t many people who could live with the imperfections in this timber,” says Peta. Luckily she’s not afraid of the spiders that colonise the hidey holes that pock-mark the cladding’s surface. Peta loves the rich tones of this cladding, which she has been oiling regularly so it doesn’t fade to grey. The butterfly roof that lifts up over the living zone references the shape of nearby Mangere Mountain.