SCHOOL ZONES:
Belmont Primary School, Belmont Intermediate, Takapuna Grammar School.
CONTACT:
Bryan Walmsley, ph 486 9208 or 021 996 520, or Pauline Dudasova, 486 9215 or 021 882 884, Harcourts.
With her home sitting on a solid concrete World War II gun turret, Margaret Tabuteau knew it wasn't going anywhere.
But she was worried about erosion threatening her clifftop section so widow Margaret called in geotechnical engineer Peter Riley to assess the situation and recommend remedial action.
Peter, who hadworked on dam projects around New Zealand, devised a solution to protect the site and, in the process, he and Margaret hit it off.
As Margaret's daughter, Simone, laughs, "He got the job and he got the woman."
As well as designing a curved concrete wall and a drainage system to prevent further erosion, Peter advised an extensive planting programme.
"I said to Margaret that with my knowledge of slips, if we also plant pohutukawa and stagger them down the slope, they'll get their roots down and hang on and hold it all together," Peter says. "Nothing has been left to chance."
As a result of landscaping and the planting, which includes natives and subtropical plants, a path zig-zags down the cliff through lush gardens to the water.
In summer, Peter and Margaret swim every morning but this idyllic setting is best admired from the decks or lawn at the rear of the house, with views across the gulf to Rangitoto.
It was because of this outlook that Seacliffe Ave was chosen as the site for four gun emplacements -- with their bases reputed to be concrete 3m thick -- as part of a network of batteries to protect Auckland from invading forces.
When architect Pip Cheshire designed this home -- built in 1984 -- he used the old gun turret as a downstairs family room and the solid concrete rooms off it for storage and for cellaring wine.
"My sister had one that she used as a darkroom and I had a playroom with blankets and pillows and my posters of horses on the walls," says Simone.
Peter says not all of the four gun turrets remain in Seacliffe Ave. He knows of one that was demolished although another was incorporated into a home and renovated so that it was a stand-out feature.
"But what better foundation for a home than all this solid concrete," says Peter, with his engineer's hat on.
Pip Cheshire cleverly used the gun turret to create a family room in the basement that is filled with light courtesy of a glass roof. This room can also be overlooked from the main part of the house.
Image 1 of 9: Herald Homes
68 Seacliffe Ave, Narrow Neck.
05 February 2015 NZ Herald photo by Ted Baghurst.
"We would have sleepovers in that rumpus room and Mum could always keen an eye on what was going on," says Simone.
Cheshire's angular design creates separate living areas -- inside and out -- so that there are various spaces to retire to depending on what the wind and the sun are doing. On the main living level there is one bedroom on the southern side of the house with harbour views. It opens to a deck flowing around the seaward side of the house
From the garage, you walk through a "tack room" past the recently updated bathroom to the kitchen, which was modernised at the same time.
From the kitchen you have access to a sun room or step down to the main lounge with woodburner. The rooms on this side of the house are arranged to maximise the wide harbour views and provide easy flow to the deck that steps down to a lawn.
Upstairs two more bedrooms face the sea views, and a sheltered balcony is tucked cleverly into a corner. The bathroom on this level is original with a spa bath beneath a skylight.
For almost 27 years, this has served as a wonderful family home but Margaret and Peter feel it is now time to downsize.
