An Architect's Private Home – House #3 by Studio2 Architects

With echoes of the house that previously stood in its place, this New Zealand home designed by and for architect Paul Clarke of Studio 2 Architects features personalised touches that relate to the family that reside within it and a floorplan that maximises the natural features of the site.

Located in the central Auckland suburb of Remuera, the home presents an integrative face to the street, but once inside, it opens up in an unexpected way, with extensive glazing merging indoors with outdoors. This is accentuated through the use of sliding timber shutters that allow for full appreciation of the mature trees on site as well as providing for passive ventilation and shading from the sun.

Weatherboards from the old house determine the width of the concrete formwork, and the timber itself has been retained and recycled for use throughout the house. In the kitchen, it is used to front the cabinets and as a mask for some of the Fisher & Paykel appliances, to create a streamlined look. A black Fisher & Paykel oven was chosen by the architect to fit with the moody colour scheme of natural materials in the open-plan kitchen, dining and lounge space, which utilises granite and cedar.

An architect’s own home that explores art and architecture, the house is named for the family’s two sons and also for the way in which the family is made up of three parts – the children, the father, and the mother as a central node. Working with the concept that within a house there is a sense of belonging, there are details throughout the home that reflect this family dynamic.