Glamuzina Architects

Caspers House

Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett

CASPERS HOUSE

Glamuzina Architects + Dessein Parke

PHOTOGRAPHS
Sam Hartnett

AREA
77 m²

MANUFACTURERS
Apl Nz, Artemide, Dulux, Inlite, Vogue Ceramics

LANDSCAPING
Outerspace Landscapes

INTERIOR DESIGN
Dessein Parke

CONSTRUCTION
Ctl Construction

ARCHITECT
Dominic Glamuzina

CATAGORY
Houses, House Interiors

LOCATION
Tairua, New Zealand

YEAR
2020

Text description provided by architect.

Casper’s House is a small ‘blurple’ holiday home in Tairua, New Zealand, for a family of four, several pets who travel, and an interchangeable raft of guests.

Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett

It was designed in response to the prevailing trend in New Zealand beach house design for white and timber - drawing instead on the experimentation.

The associated freedoms of the mid-century Fire Island homes where daring forms concealed complex layered interiors.

The house is split into two steeply pitched forms.

Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett

The main volume steps incrementally down the site, with the entrance and bathroom at the top, down a couple of steps to the kitchen and bedroom wing, and then down several more to the lounge and balcony.

The mezzanine sits above the lounge and doubles as a 3rd bedroom and extra lounge space.

These staggering levels provide a range of spaces from the compact to the vertiginous while net floors, ladders, and secret openings make this perfect house for hide and seek.

Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett

A vast expanse of glazing to the north and multiple skylights cast light across the uniformly blue interior - which dramatically oscillates in hue depending on the time of day.

The combined effect of transient light and color creates a constantly evolving and changing space to inhabit.

The cladding is a translucent corrugated fiberglass rainscreen over magnesium oxide SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) and painted timber battening, creating a geometric pattern under the skin and giving the exterior a visual depth.

Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett

As light strikes the cladding from different angles the color morphs from a light pink to a ghostly purple.

Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett


Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett
Caspers House
© Sam Hartnett

Glamuzina Architects
T +64 9 2220011
Glamuzina Architects
34 Rossmay Terrace, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024, New Zealand