Korora

A ridge stretching between Auckland's Hauraki Gulf and the pastoral landscape of Waiheke Island provided a stunning, and challenging, context in which to design a home.

The approach was to work within the contour of the ridge, as an attempt to minimise the impact on the landscape. A landscape wall, clad in local coloured stone, splays out from the primary plan form, providing a point of entry to the house, and allowing the excavation that drops the garage below the ground line.

Ascending the stair, one reaches the house via a southern courtyard. The plan form of the house is spaced between this courtyard and its accompanying northern courtyard, which are bridged by a gabled roof stretched across the long axis. The courtyards provide the opportunity to shelter from either of the two dominant winds.