SCHOOL ZONES:
Warkworth Primary School Mahurangi College.
CONTACT:
Nicola Kelland, 021 474 645.
Sculptor Terry Stringer is renowned for his bronze works that reveal visual surprises as you move around them.
And his home is no different -- designed as if it's a ruin with a new building emerging from its midst -- it houses a gallery on the ground floor with movable walls unveiling artworks behind them and, even more surprisingly, an open fire.
The angular home has all manner of nooks housing kitchens and bathrooms, while the jagged angles of "the ruin" hide and shelter patios.
The building and the gardens -- known as Zealandia Sculpture Garden -- are home to Terry's artworks, which morph and meld the human form.
"I wanted complexity and Pip was trying to make things more Zen," Terry says. "I didn't want simple spaces; I wanted deceptive spaces and surprises."
During the complex project, builder William Hursthouse went on a Buddhist retreat but Terry swears it wasn't because of his demands or the difficulty of the job.
The zinc-clad lines of "the ruin" are reminiscent of one of Terry's best-known works -- Mountain Fountain -- which sat in Aotea Square, where it was popular with skateboarders, before being shifted to the plaza in front of Parnell's Holy Trinity Cathedral.
The central structure clad in longrun deliberately presents an inscrutable face.
Terry says of the glazed face of the building: "We used a commercial curtain wall so you don't have any sense of how many levels there are. It looks more like a building block."
Inside, there is a reception space with stained-glass windows where visitors can enjoy coffee served from a nook with a coffee machine tucked in behind a display case that the barista can peer through. Adjoining this is a commercial kitchen occupying a corner of the building and fitted out in stainless steel and plywood -- materials common to the upstairs kitchen.
Image 1 of 13: Deceptive spaces, movable walls and jagged angles were the order of the day in this habitable piece of art
Askew angels are also a feature of the exhibition space, where the three movable walls create a versatile space, with one cleverly hiding an office and access to the garage.
"The idea was to make it a versatile space but -- because of the moving walls -- a space without too much furniture," Terry says. "We sometimes put a dining table in here, and having the fire on completely changes the feel of the space."
Originally painted white, the gallery walls have been given fresco treatments by Terry. "Painted white, it felt enclosed but these illusory paintings on the wall make it feel less definite."
Up the spiral staircase are the living quarters, with the lounge heated by an open fire and having a deck overlooking the property, which is framed by a stand of kauri.
Another angular kitchen sits in one of the corners and is an example of craftsmanship that would make a boat builder proud. Terry says: "The guy who did the kitchen enjoyed the challenge but said 'Don't ask me to do another one'."
A specially engineered staircase takes you up to the top floor, where there is a bedroom opening to a balcony with sea views and a plumbed-in bath.
Before the house was built, Terry and his partner, organist Tim McWhannell, lived in the property's old woolshed. This has also served as Terry's studio and has been renovated as self-contained accommodation.
Towards the bottom of the property are a pond and a shed, which are used to house Tim's "forest organ" that he would play, to the delight of visitors.
Terry converted the old cattleyard into a sculpture garden but some of the works have already been moved as he and Tim begin the shift to a large warehouse in Eden Terrace.
He says: "We are about the only people I know who are upsizing."
