A Place of Resonance – Oneroa by Vaughn McQuarrie Architects

Oneroa House takes the place of a previous 1920s cottage on the same site. Vaughn McQuarrie combines a considered approach with a curated outlook to create a home that takes full advantage of its location.

With an enviable outlook, Oneroa House sits perched in prime position above both ocean and garden views. Knowing the site intimately, the clients had lived in the previous dwelling on the same site for some twenty-six years prior. Having grown in affection for the location and its bountiful offerings, they then decided to replace the existing with a more contemporary and robust home. Treading lightly in order to preserve the existing plantings and landscape carefully cultivated over the years, the proposed fits in around a well-established setting. Large openings and spans aim to capture key views and connect the internals with the exterior setting, also acting as a key reminder of the location. Vaughn McQuarrie uses a rationalised approach to replace the existing home with a sense of consideration and deliberate curation.

Large openings and spans aim to capture key views and connect the internals with the exterior setting, acting as a key reminder of the location.

Tomitigate the reminder of neighbouring properties and create an almost blinkered affect, the building form and its openings respond accordingly. The overall form takes on a saw-tooth roof silhouette, allowing for high level openings for natural light and also for heat release and ventilation at a higher level. On the vertical plane, openings are then directed away from adjacent homes and out toward the ocean and in other areas toward the established garden. As a whole, the home has been considered as a working and contributing unit in itself, and the materiality, orientation and opportunities for ventilation all aid in the thermal comfort and reduced reliance on active energy sources.

Incorporating an existing rainwater tank of concrete to optimise on pre-existing service locations and to maintain as little impact to the site as possible, the new home sits in a related position to the original. The exposed concrete slab adds thermal mass and through overhangs and sun studies allows long and low winter sun to enter and passively warm the slab and, in turn, the home. Responding also to its location, the select palette reacts to the natural element and instead represents a robustness and weighted durability. Timber is used in conjunction with large glass panels and concrete, with an overt effort to minimise the use of paint inferring an honest approach to finish expressed throughout.

The overall form takes on a saw-tooth roof silhouette, allowing for high level openings for natural light and also for heat release and ventilation at a higher level.

Oneroa House sits humbly as a home of just over 100sqm, and through considered rigour offers itself as a place in appreciation of its site. Vaugh McQuarrie has used subtleties and refinement to propose a home that connects to its past while being relevant and resolute in the present.