Coastal Retreat : Fairhall
The site located on the edge of a cliff with views back across the bay to Omaha settlement to the west and Leigh further north also manages a glimpse out to sea and Little Barrier to the north east. The house consisting of 3 detached loosely linked pavilions: sleeping, living/eating is connected by a protective caged stone wall and skylit covered walkway on the landward side. The client desire for a series of gentle spaces and the sloping terrain generated a building staggered in plan to resemble the traditional organically evolved bach settlement stepping down the slope interspersed by water gardens and romantic courtyards: indoor and outdoor rooms merging seamlessly.
Formal massing plays on the ubiquitous gable and leanto vernacular and the pleasant memory of arelaxed seaside lifestyle of living in and out of different houses strung along a walk down to the beach. This house reveals itself gradually with walls and openings placed in a way that orchestrates a systematic unveiling as the visitor enters and progresses from space to space participating in an architectural striptease.Water, stone, concrete, glass, gargantuan timber beams, louvred timber shutters and exotic landscaping all serve to increase the feeling of a tropics amenable house and feed the visual senses. All this making for a family retreat for this well travelled family who loves to entertain.