An eye-catching house by the beach perfectly suits its owners’ lifestyle. Kim Dungey reports.
For two years, interested locals watched what was going on just a short distance from the beach in St Clair.
In an area full of older, character homes, a contemporary piece of architecture was taking shape - one with steel framing, precast concrete panels and cantilevered decks.
The three-storey house belongs to empty nesters Brendan and Nicky Murray, who wanted to stay in their beloved beach suburb but in a home that was modern and warm.
Architect Gary Todd said when he first met the couple, they were living in a Victorian villa but looking for something that was ‘‘different, edgy and had a wow factor’’.
While contrasting architectural styles could be ‘‘polarising’’, he believed contemporary architecture could sit comfortably alongside heritage buildings - ‘‘showing the way forward instead of replicating the past’’.
To achieve their vision, the couple bought and demolished an existing house. A plan was developed to suit the long, narrow section but partway through the build the adjoining property also came on the market.
Wanting to protect their views and to have more green space, they demolished that too, making sure materials such as the rimu floorboards and stairs went to good homes.
At first, they planned to put just a small shed and a vegetable garden on the second section. However, they eventually decided to indulge their love of tennis and include a full-sized court.
Inside, a centrally-located concrete staircase and glass lift connect all three levels. The lower storeys contain three en suite bedrooms, each with its own deck or terrace, but the standout space is the open-plan kitchen-dining-living area that takes up all of the top floor.
Mr Murray said their favourite spot was at the breakfast bar, watching the sun rise and the suburb come to life.
‘‘We hang out in the kitchen most of the time, so a big thing was having a big, open kitchen. And having two islands is just the best thing because it gives you heaps of space.’’
Calm, neutral colours and an interior that was ‘‘minimal, comfortable and modern’’ were important to the couple. The limited material palette creates a cohesive look, soft textiles and blonded timber offering a contrast to the concrete and steel.
Practicalities haven’t been forgotten. A ventilation system delivers fresh, filtered air and systems such as lighting, heating and security features can be controlled remotely via their phones or through tablets on the walls.
Builder Mitch Todd, of Moda Homes, said it took a full five months to complete the interior linings.
Setting them out took almost as much time as putting them up because they had to line up with every appliance, structural panel and steel post. This involved working closely with Stevenson & Williams to ensure the battens on the ceiling aligned with those the joiners had incorporated into the kitchen joinery.
Other challenges included putting up the exterior aluminium cladding in a grid formation - ensuring it lined up with window and door openings - and working with the precast concrete panels.
‘‘Being residential builders, we were pretty new to that, so it took a bit of figuring out. But we craned in about 20 panels, some of them for retaining walls and then three really big ones that went in the middle for the staircase.’’
Gary Todd said credit had to go to the owners, the builders and landscape designer Wayne Butson.
‘‘The project succeeded because at the end of the day, everybody has had a holistic vision and executed it really well.’’
Mrs Murray said while the house was ‘‘quite a contrast’’ to others in the neighbourhood, it had been softened and ‘‘camouflaged a wee bit’’ by over 1000 plants, including mature olive trees and 3.5m-high magnolias.
Her husband added they’ve had nothing but positive feedback on the 380sqm property.
‘‘I suppose it was quite intriguing when we were building it because it was just a massive steel frame. A lot of people thought it was apartments. [Another person] joked that the hospital had finally started but they’d built it in the wrong place.’’
Ultimately, the house was ‘‘very easy to live in, considering it’s three storeys’’ and ideally suited to their lifestyle.
‘‘It’s like a permanent holiday living in it.’’
The garden
Best idea
The owners said their best idea was developing the section next door for a tennis court, complete with landscaping.
Buying the adjacent property gave them additional green space they initially didn’t think they would have and meant that instead of looking at a neighbour’s roof, they have a clear view of the ocean.
Originally, they were going to put only a small shed and a vegetable garden on the section, but the family all enjoy playing tennis. This includes the couple’s two adult sons, who are at college in the United States but who return home a couple of times a year.
Design and Garden Landscapes created a ‘‘coastal contemporary garden’’ that would sit well with the house, with lots of shade-loving plants - tree ferns, rengarenga lilies, Chatham Island forget-me-nots and Ligularia reniformis (tractor seat plant) - on the south side of the property and sun-loving plants such as fan aloe, Leucanthemum hosmariense (Moroccan daisy), Loropetalum ‘Burgundy’ (fringe flower), senecio ‘Angel Wings’, and daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ on the opposite side.
Managing director and senior designer Wayne Butson said the plants around the tennis court had to be able to withstand occasional impact from tennis balls and feet - the flat groundcovers there include ajuga, pachysandra and Vinca minor ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ (lesser periwinkle).
Large round stones and upright Corten steel sculptures contrast with the dark colour of the building and highlight the area directly around the house, where a drain channel meant it was not possible to have plants.
Finally, large-grade magnolia ‘Kay Parris’ trees were used at the front to create street presence and to visually reduce the height of the boundary wall.
