Mission Bay: Circular logic

Photo / Geoff Dale

A radical designer home uses curves in a surprising fashion, writes Jane Loudon.

90 Selwyn Avenue, Mission Bay.

Radical, timeless and modern are words that rarely fit neatly together when it comes to talking good architectural design. But the Mission Bay home of Sylvia and Robert Sinclair is a clever exception.

The house, designed by Auckland architect Simon Carnachan, unfolds as a series of surprises as you walk through a curved hallway that links four pavilions into an eclectic but unified whole.

All the pavilions open to a central, north-facing courtyard enclosed by high hedging, and three of them have narrow staircases leading to upstairs levels.

It may all sound a bit higgledy-piggledy, and the thought of walking around in a semi-circle to get from one room to the next, as well as running up and down those staircases, might sound disconcerting for any tired parent.

But what appears at first to be an eccentric layout flows wonderfully for a family with young or teenage children.

The two children's bedrooms, a guest quarters and a kids' play area, which can also double as a semi-open-plan office, are neatly tucked away upstairs and have their own adjoining bathrooms.

"The only time I need to go upstairs is when I'm putting the kids to bed," says Sylvia, who has two sons, Thomas, 7, and Will, 3.

The Sinclairs moved from St Marys Bay to Mission Bay a few years ago, because they loved the area and wanted to be closer to St Kentigern College where Thomas is at school.

Sylvia says they were initially reluctant to trade their older home for a modern one, but fell in love with the Carnachan design.

"Although it's modern, it is not too minimalist. It has plenty of character and is a really good neutral palette for the traditional and modern furniture that we have.

"It definitely grows on you. The house has a semi-open-plan feel but also has plenty of spaces where you can get away and feel at peace," she says.

Soaring picture windows and expansive, bifolding doors open to the garden at the front and back of the house, and create a sense of the outdoors being part of the internal space.

Generous but unobtrusive canopies over the external doors and windows mean you can leave them open even when it rains.

An impressive cathedral ceiling in the formal lounge and skylights in upstairs rooms add to the house's uplifting and airy feeling of spaciousness.

"It's incredibly quiet here. You're not aware of any neighbours, there's no traffic noise and you can hear plenty of birds," says Sylvia.

The house's semi-circular design allows it to catch all-day sun, which pours into the kitchen and informal family room at one end of the house in the mornings and moves through the formal lounge to the downstairs master bedroom by late afternoon.

Structured planting in the front garden is relaxed and low maintenance, and includes high hedging that encloses the lawn.

Sylvia - who, as Sylvia Hume who won a gold medal in the 100m backstroke at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games in 1986 - says they considered putting in a pool when their children were a little older.

"But not for me to swim in," she laughs. "After all those years training I've done my dash."

Inside, most of the flooring is elegant tongue-and-groove Tasmanian oak on a concrete base. The bedrooms feature signature Carnachan plantation-style shutters and the house is built of cedar with quality zincalume cladding, copper nails and guttering.

It sits on a secluded 1322sq m triangular section at the end of a right-of-way. One of the nicest surprises is that the rear garden opens to a delightful neighbourhood park - Mary Aitken Reserve - which is dotted with 100-year-old oak trees and includes a quaint Anglican church.

"It's just like a huge back yard for the kids to play in. We had a birthday there recently with a large bouncy slide and lots of games," says Sylvia.

"Only a handful of properties back on to the park, which is mainly used by neighbourhood children. Will calls it "my park"."

A career change for Robert, who has recently been appointed to a senior management position at Auckland International Airport, means the family is reluctantly moving closer to his work.

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land 1322sq m, house 380sq m.

PRICE: Upwards of $2.5 million.

INSPECT: By appointment.

CONTACT: Marnie Adams, Bayleys, ph 309 6020 bus, 021 867 750 mob.

FEATURES: Three bedrooms, separate guest quarters, two living and dining areas, four bathrooms, kids' playroom or study, three gas fireplaces, internal-access double garage, electric gates, garden backing on to local park.