Brown Vujcich House

RESIDENTIAL

• PROJECT

  Brown Vujcich House

• LOCATION

  Herne Bay, Auckland

• STATUS

  Completed

• AWARDS

  • NZ Institute of Architects Local Award 2011

  • NZ Institute of Architects Resene Colour Award 2011

  • Master Builders House of the Year Gold Reserve Award 2010

  • Master Builders Auckland Region Gold Award 2010

“…a pleasing, layered series of spaces leading down the hillside. …the street elevation is crisp, delicate, playful, and opens to a lovely split-level entry sequence and an interior exhibiting beautiful cabinetry and an intriguing and subtle use of colour.”

-NZIA Award citation

Located on a narrow urban site in the heart of Herne Bay, tight site controls and a sloping site resulted in a long narrow building form that steps down the slope of the site. Reached by a bridge that crosses a moat of planting, the entry is glazed with translucent glass to give privacy and a beautiful soft light to the interior spaces. The entry space is protected by a vertical cedar screen with intermittent horizontals painted with colours that have also been used on the interior and inspired by the clients’ fantastic collection of 1950 -60s furniture, art and ceramics.

Once inside an open riser jarrah and steel stair with a hanging screen of stainless steel mesh leads either upstairs to the main living level or downstairs to the bedrooms and a second family living area. The rooms on the lower level open out to the usually redundant side yards surrounding the house with each room having its own terrace and outdoor space. The building steps down the site and culminates in a terrace and pool off the family living space.

Light and privacy is modulated on the upper levels by opening and closing vertical louvreline panels in either cedar or aluminium. The living space opens out to a generous deck with glimpses of the harbour.

Playful colours, finishes and hoop pine cabinetry enliven the interior spaces. The exterior materials of fine vertical cedar shiplap and double-skin bagged brick reflect the clients’ love of fifties and sixties architecture.