Janssen house

The living accommodation of the house is a single level linear plan running along the terrace and wrapping around the two storey garage/guest suite anchoring element that dominates the entry face.

Conceptually a piece of driftwood caught on a rock at the water's edge; its movement represented by mass flax planting to the bank.

Colours are carefully chosen to reinforce this concept and to strongly reflect the local environment while simultaneously being bold enough to stand alone.

The anchoring form, or 'rock' articulated as a climbing wall accessed from the roof terrace is painted Resene Half Tapa, a warm light grey reminiscent of the base grey tone of local granite gravels.

To contrast with this, the main body of the house was envisioned as a rich warm burnt orange brown, a colour glimpsed in wet timber and the local iron pan layer beneath the site. A colour match to a physical piece of the iron pan was the inspiration for the orange, with the final colour being matched to a tea canister the Janssens chanced on that reflected the orange hue of the iron pan that they wanted to capture.

The finished result reinforces the architectural forms, and is a strong colour statement that sits comfortably in its environment.

Colours used: Resene Seashell, Resene Half Tapa, custom colour.

Architectural specifier: Gordon Dalkie, Dalkie Architects
Building Contractor: Janssen Construction
Photography: Isaac Dalkie
Project: Resene Total Colour Awards 2011

› Download a PDF of this article