Ocean Home
Location: Pauanui, New Zealand
Lead Project Architect: Richard Goldie || Peddle Thorp
Featured Fixture: Navicula
N. American Distributor: wakaNINE
Photographer: Simon Devitt
Words: Claire McCall
Pauanui Beach Home
There is a sense of rightness, of belonging, that some houses manage to capture and this collection of pavilions on a waterfront site in Pauanui does just that. Buildings that reflect place and culture will always have this advantage. “Our clients have a Polynesian/Melanesian background and there is a strong component of that in the site layout,” says architect Richard Goldie of Peddle Thorp.
The entrance journey pays homage to that of the ‘pure’aga’ (a Rotuman village) with arrival via a walkway that skirts the central lawn with its outdoor cooking fire, the communal heart of the home. Three forms – a self-contained living wing and two bedroom blocks – cluster around this common open space and it doesn’t take a huge stretch of the imagination to see references to the ‘ri’ (house) in the main pavilion. Its robust, gentle-pitch gable with expressed bargeboards extends to form a porch and, internally, the rafters are exposed.
“Conceptually, it is about the spaces beneath the roof so there is a clear discipline to the height where the wall linings end and the open roof sits on top.”
– Richard Goldie
Architect
Exteriors
“It has a hewn feel to it; we wanted to create a wooden building with Polynesian roots.” Steel bolts that join the beams are disguised with timber plugs so the house feels “handmade but not industrial”. And a stairway leading to the mezzanine master suite has treads made of coconut wood to further channel the island allusion.
Since the house has a full-frontal view of the beach and the ocean, it may have been tempting to go to town on the glazing. Instead, glass has been used judiciously to capture the vista while maintaining privacy (there are close neighbours on both sides).
The Navicula
Lighting the spaces was something of a challenge, given the pitched, dark-timber ceilings and lack of wall space. Suspended lighting was the main choice. “The piece that is most representative of our clients’ brief is David Trubridge’s Navicula pendant above the dining table,” explains Marsh. It floats like an amoeba suspended in an invisible ocean and also speaks to the island roots of the owners.
Featured Product
Navicula
Size: 77″ x 15″ x 35″ (Medium)
Navicula Small (57″ x 8″ x 22″ dia)
Navicula Medium (77″ x 15″ x 35″)
Navicula Large (98″ x 18″ x 39″ dia)
Story
The inspiration for the Navicula form is microscopic diatoms. Diatoms are at the base of the entire oceanic food chain. They take more carbon out of the atmosphere than all of the world’s tropical rainforests. Through photosynthesis they liberate enough oxygen for our every fifth breath. And, almost as a bonus, they are stunningly beautiful.
The thin curved pieces of CNC-cut bamboo plywood create a flowing structure that also casts magical patterns. It is lit from within with a row of LED pin-point lights.
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