KEY POINTS:
Islanders know this Waiheke home as the USS Enterprise, because of its circular frontage.
25 Tiri View Road, Palm Beach, Waiheke Island.
Overlooking Palm Beach, Roger Clarke's masonry house has commanding views of the Hauraki Gulf, looking out to Little and Great Barrier and as far north as Whangarei Heads.
Roger chose the site for his holiday house about five years ago when he was visiting friends on Waiheke.
``I came round the corner and looked at the view and thought this is the best location on the island.''
Some locals refer to the landmark building as the Bunker, because of its concrete construction, but Clarke says ``most of them call it the USS Enterprise because it looks like the starship.
At night time, when you go down to the beach and you look back and see all the lights running across the face of the house, it looks like the Enterprise.''
Roger took on the challenge of building a front deck area that curves 40m around the house. He chose concrete for its strength and permanency.
The structure is supported by solid concrete pillars, which make impressive viewing underneath the house. These pillars go down 5m into the substrata. The house's water tank is here, too.
Upstairs, all walls, ceilings and floors are concrete with jarrah timber from railway bridges used as support beams and furniture. Roger keeps an eye on newspaper advertisements, sourcing the timber from bridges in the southern part of the North Island and the South Island.
``The beams are stronger than steel, and if you have a fire at any time, they don't burn, they char. I bought a railway bridge in Blenheim and we shipped it up here. We used all the jarrah beams to help build the house and for some of the furniture - bedheads and tables and other bits and pieces.''
One of those bits and pieces is a magnificent 3m-long coffee table. That table will stay with the house as it defines the living area of the open-plan room and, more practically, would be hard to move.
Entry to the house is through the internal access off the double garage or via the private courtyard and barbecue area. Here, the sun-bleached jarrah provides seating and rustic beams. Both entrances lead into the spacious kitchen and living area with those magnificent sea views.
The kitchen's piece de resistance is the huge concrete bench.
``We poured this concrete bench on site,'' explains Roger, ``and then we ground it to give that industrial look.''
The floor, finished to give an antiqued look, has a heating system built into the slabs. There is also an open fireplace with a well-stocked supply of logs.
The three large bedrooms all have en suites and walk-in wardrobes. Two flank the courtyard area and the third is off the living area, past the fireplace.
All windows are bifolds, allowing the outdoors in.
``The whole house opens up all around,'' says Roger. `` But wherever the wind's coming from, you can find a protected spot. If you've got a northerly wind, you can go into the courtyard out the back. And if it's a westerly, you come out the front.
``In the morning you can have breakfast on the eastern side of the house, then later in the afternoon you go round to the western side if you want to follow the sun.''
He's selling because he's bought another bridge. The latest find is in Hawkes Bay and he's thinking those jarrah beams might look rather fetching in a house by the Tukituki River in that area. Beam them up, Scotty.
VITAL STATISTICS
BEDROOMS: 3
BATHROOMS: 3
GARAGES: 2
SIZE: Land 1700sq m, house 240sq m.
PRICE INDICATION: $2.75 million.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1-2pm.
ON THE WEB: www.matthewsmith.co.nz or www.realestate.co.nz #251206.
SCHOOL ZONES: Te Huruhi Primary, Waiheke High School.
CONTACT: Matthew Smith, Matthew Smith Real Estate, ph 372 9292 or 021 WAIHEKE (021 924 435).
FEATURES: Masonry house with panoramic views over the Hauraki Gulf. Office, underfloor heating, open fire, private courtyard.
