Unexpected Things
With warmth and humour, Paul Clarke of Studio2 Architects explores the playful, joyous and unexpected things in his own award-winning home situated in Auckland, New Zealand.
Clarke’s exuberant three-storey home is filled with interesting and inspiring objects and artwork he’s collected throughout his life. Defined by rich materiality and elegant details, this contemporary family residence bursts with personality, style and substance.
Entering the property, you first come across concrete walls, crafted in-situ, that reference the cedar weatherboards of the original house. Here, Clarke has created a concrete emblem with a pattern that nods to both the street number, as well as the way the family is made up of three parts – the children, the father and the mother. “Having three boys in the family and my wife being the square, which is the heart of a family,” he says.
In the entryway, a colourful, abstract 1976 painting by Pat Hanly graces the wall. Clarke was a student of Hanly’s at architecture school and the piece has a special, personal meaning to him, tied to memories of Hanly’s mentoring. “It was about scale and proportion, just that idea of being able to put pen to paper and not be afraid of it and enjoy the experience,” he notes.
In the kitchen, you’ll find a sleek, versatile Vola tap that harks back to Danish design heritage and handmade craftsmanship. The kitchen is a significant part of the home for the family, and the Vola tap is a central element among the timber joinery, cedar ceilings and dark walls. “It’s actually a beautiful piece of design. So it just fits in really naturally with everything else.”
The timber bifold shutters and sliding screens on the north-facing facade are one of the most striking features of the home. The panels can be opened and closed easily with “fantastic hinges and a really simple track system with a lovely little wheel,” as Clarke puts it, to create both openness to the outdoors as well as intimacy and privacy indoors. The shutters can also be manipulated to create joyful ‘artworks’ when viewed from the garden. “There’s something that’s really lovely about being able to manipulate that and have that ability to change it,” he says.
Outside, you’ll find a playful Yoyo light – a 2000 design by Swiss designers Catarina von Martèrn and Lisa Landström. “It was just a wonderful way of being able to actually transport light around the outdoor space,” he says. “It sort of has that simplicity about it that refers to childhood… you can manoeuvre it around and it just creates a difference to the space that you’re in.”
The rotating, leather Lammhults Club chair is another stunning example of clean, timeless design. It’s in a spot that allows for social connection or private moments throughout the day. “It has this ability to … be part of the morning sound while having a coffee here and in the evening, sitting here with a glass of wine in front of the fire, connecting with family or friends,” he says.
Alongside the spectacular shutters, the windows also offered an opportunity for experimentation and craftsmanship to take the lead. Clarke’s reinterpretation of double-hung windows sees the mechanism exposed, as stainless-steel weights filled with lead gunshot allow the top of the windows to fully open, creating the feeling of being in a breezy, outdoor space.
A bright red Egg Chair, designed by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen in 1958, is embedded in the family’s personal history. “We got this 23 years ago, when our first son was born,” he says. “My wife spent a lot of time sitting here feeding him, and I must admit, I spent a lot of time sitting nursing him at that time too.” As their kids grew older the chair became a favourite spot to sit with their mates, and it has stood the test of time. “It’s faded a little bit, like me,” he says with a laugh.
As you enter the home through the beautifully crafted pivot door, an experimental artwork by New Zealand modernist painter John Drawbridge is centred between the passageways. Clarke sees it as a historical piece, and its placement in the home is careful and purposeful. “I do love that about architecture – that you can create objects that you look towards for the space to be individual in the way that it’s seen.”
In another corner sits a 1948 Eames La Chaise. With characteristic humour, he asks, “Is it a seat? Is it a chair? Is it an object? Is it something that can just be looked and appreciated?” Ultimately for Clarke, good design is all about longevity and surrounding yourself with pieces that have both personal and historical significance. “Good architecture, good design should stand the test of time.”
Architecture by Studio2 Architects. Artwork by Pat Hanly and John Drawbridge.
