A Peaked Insertion – Hapua Street House by RTA Studio

Responding to its unique and heritage surrounds, Hapua Street House draws on the existing formal language it is immersed within and emerges as a series of gabled forms on site. RTA Studio references the familiar peaked silhouette in conjuring a bold yet sensitive home, as a crisp addition to the streetscape.

Surrounded by homes of a similar ilk, Hapua Street House sits amongst an established array of state-owned individual houses. Unlike the neighbouring vernacular, the proposal inserts itself using a contemporary interpretation of what lay before while still respectfully referencing form, scale and proportion. Using the existing peaked homes as inspiration, RTA Studio propositions a twinning of gabled elements on site as an evolution of the area’s narrative, casting a suggestion for the coming chapters. The contrasting use of black and white encasing materiality ensures the presence of the home is felt and has an immediate impact amongst the existing, although there is an intentioned overall sensitivity at play.

The contrasting use of black and white encasing materiality ensures the presence of the home is felt and has an immediate impact amongst the existing, although there is an intentioned overall sensitivity at play.

Built by Ninety45, together with carefully crafted surrounding landscapes by Paul Bangay, Hapua Street House is formed as two aligning and seemingly separate pavilions on site. A central spine runs the centre of the home, and hinges both volumes from this central connecting circulation space. This central expression is also intended as a gallery space of its own, taking advantage of its optimal lighting and linear nature for display. While the surrounding bungalow-style homes are all clad in brick with timber glazed window openings, Hapua Street House combines a rough brick outer shell with board and batten timber cladding, which is then painted in its respective and balanced tones.

Gradually stepping up the sloping site, the home forms the letter ‘E’ in plan. Its opening up internally both allows for a sense of privacy and a dedicated internal courtyard space, while providing a sense of protection and enclosure from the exterior. The ability for the home to open up and be ventilated and cooled was an integral priority of the brief, with the home covered in a series of rain screens that are both fixed and able to be moved, dependent on the weather. The orientation of select openings also allows for an abatement of western sun, and the capture of northern light as needed. A light-filled interior is then emphasised through the full height gable forms, drawing the eye upward.

Using the existing peaked homes as inspiration, RTA Studio propositions a twinning of gabled elements on site as an evolution of the area’s narrative, casting a suggestion for the coming chapters.

Working with the site and its surrounds, Hapua Street House is imagined as a respectful and responsive inclusion. RTA Studio takes on essential cues and reinterprets them through fresh eyes.