KEY POINTS:
Japanese serenity meets modern drama in a new city home. By Estelle Sarney.
58A St Georges Bay Road, Parnell.
Japanese architecture and landscaping go hand in hand, so it was fitting that this orient-inspired house had to step around a tree that has belonged to the property for more than 100 years.
The magnificent oak that drapes over this new house softens its straight lines and provides an outlook that changes colour through the seasons. It's a sister tree to one that rises up from the rear of the section, where the land falls away into Scarborough Reserve.
Owners Dean and Kellie Wilson knew the oak, and the sloping site, would be a challenge when they bought the land three years ago. But they could see it contained enough space to build the concrete tilt slab home they'd been planning.
Inspired by pictures of a Japanese house he found in a book, Dean asked architect Richard George of David Ponting Architecture to create a similar style of home for the site. The result marries Japanese serenity with modern drama, on a large scale.
You enter through a pivoting, oversize front door made of frosted glass. Pale Italian tiles lead your eye to a picture window in front of you, providing your first view of the oak and the native garden below it.
Stainless steel poles erected throughout the garden are a sculptural take on boundary markers. You see part of this garden through an open oak staircase that appears to be suspended in the air.
Dean says the engineering required to achieve this look is just one of the feats achieved in a house that is a masterpiece of that science.
From the entrance you walk into a voluminous kitchen dining and living area. A 5m long, white Corian bench runs along the rear, where handleless white cabinetry completes the clean look.
Zinc cladding on the outside of the house wraps inside, and a door hidden in the paneling can be pushed to enter a scullery where all the clutter is tucked away.
A 1.5m gas fire takes centrestage, and its lightweight concrete firebox extends into the enclosed courtyard next door. The northfacing side of the house is made up almost entirely of sliding glass doors 2.5m high, allowing the house to be opened up to the sun and view of the park, rooftops and a peep of the harbour.
The courtyard, enclosed on two sides by sliding doors into the two lounges, and at the rear by a glass wall of a gallery hallway, is another touch of the Japanese aesthetic. This could be left clean, or made into a beautiful garden space. It has a roof to enclose its warmth.
Upstairs the master bedroom looks over the roof of the courtyard and the second lounge beyond, so Dean and Kellie decided to turn it into a roof garden.
Covered in white pebbles, with just a few sculptural rocks and the oak tree draping down from above, the effect is very zen.
The master en suite is similarly minimalist - the rectangular basin, which slopes into one corner to allow water to drain, is a work of art.
On the bottom level of the house are two more bedrooms, a bathroom and entry to the three car garage.
Off here is a laundry room and a storage room, which also contains the "brains" of this computerised house. Lighting, heating, alarms and video intercom can be controlled from a touchpad in the kitchen.
"We wanted to futureproof it as much as we could," says Dean. "The whole house has also been wired to act as one big office."
From the lower level you can enter a rear, grassed courtyard where big concrete pavers lead to a path down to the park. It is here that Dean points out how the base of the house is cantilevered in steps around the roots of the oak tree.
"The engineering that went into this house was incredible," he recalls. "All the tilt slabs and the fireplace had to be craned in, the commercial-grade joinery was made and fitted on site, the concrete posts and sills were clad in aluminium and every bit of glass was recessed into the concrete. Achieving a very clean look is actually incredibly difficult."
Little wonder that the project took 17 months, but Dean and Kellie are rapt with the result. However, a new business opportunity has come knocking, and the couple want to release some capital to take it up.
They have decided to sell this house and downsize to something smaller. They are leaving satisfied they have fulfilled their vision.
"I love the big spaces, and its park setting," says Dean. "It's very peaceful."
VITAL STATISTICS
BEDROOMS: 3
BATHROOMS: 3
GARAGES: 3
SIZE: Land 603sq m, house 380sq m.
PRICE INDICATION: In the past year similar sales in Parnell/Remuera of contemporary homes have realised prices of $2.4 million to $3.4 million. Auction December 17.
INSPECT: Sunday 2.30-3.15pm.
ON THE WEB: www.kellands.co.nz
SCHOOL ZONES: Parnell District School (to year 8), Auckland Grammar School, Epsom Girls Grammar.
CONTACT: Pene Milne, Kellands, ph
021 919 940.
FEATURES: New architecturally-designed house backing onto Scarborough Reserve. Two living areas joined by semi-outdoor courtyard. Top of the range kitchen and bathrooms, state-of-the-art home computer networks.
