Castle Rock Beach House, Whangarei Heads Residential Development, New Zealand Architecture

Castle Rock Beach House

Residential Building in NZ design by Herbst Architects Ltd

page updated 21 Sep 2016 with new images ; 18 Aug 2015

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Design: Herbst Architects Ltd

Location: Whangarei Heads, New Zealand

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads Property

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Site:
Large, cranked and hilly with the prescribed building platform positioned on the crest of the seaside knoll.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Views – south facing sea view, north facing mountain view.
Features – a mature Pohutukawa tree is on the knoll.
A watercourse and associated wet gully runs along the eastern boundary accented by a large boulder.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

The knoll drops off sharply to a crescent shaped bay fringed with mature trees.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Constraints:
The building platform on the knoll has an 8m rolling height limit.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Brief:
A holiday house for primarily summer use with a boatshed /garage. The house will not be used as a permanent residence.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Concept:
This building is a continuation of the exploration by Herbst Architects in a genre of building that is specifically design for occupation in the summer months. In the design process we attempt to challenge the boundaries between the built form and nature to heighten the experience of immersion in nature.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

The architects challenge also the accepted levels of comfort and utility for the same reason. The architects attempt also to reference the nostalgia surrounding the “Kiwi bach” by manipulating scale, form, relationships, materiality and limitation of amenity.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Response:
Break the building into 2 primary components in order to reduce the scale and to allow the bach to follow the contour of the land. Create a single cut in the knoll and retain it with a gabion wall, this sets up a spine around which the components can be ordered.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Separate the functions by a full level to allow a panoramic view from the living level and to step the house down towards the beach.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

The living pavilion is articulated as a series of 4 spaces in a pinwheel arrangement; a kitchen, a lounge and 2 covered decks. The kitchen aspects towards both the north and south deck depending on the prevailing wind conditions by manipulating a series of doors and shutters.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

A stair drops to the lower level and penetrates the gabion wall, a covered outside walkway running along the gabion wall connects to the bedroom spaces. The stair continues on axis with a powerful rock formation at the base of the slope to make the connection to the beach.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

A black stained rainscreen cladding introduces a crenulated layering which peels open in part to allow views and privacy or wind screening. Structural timbers are generally exposed and left without color embellishment.

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Photographs: Patrick Reynolds

Castle Rock Beach House in Whangarei Heads

Castle Rock Beach House images / information from Herbst Architects Ltd

Location: Whangarei Heads, New Zealand

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