Herbst Architects Ltd

Castle Rock House

Castle Rock House

Castle Rock House

Herbst Architects

PHOTOS
Gabriel (3)

BUDGET
$1m - 5m

AREA
3000 Sqft - 5000 Sqft

STATUS
Built

YEAR
2015

LOCATION
Northland, New Zealand

TYPE
Residential › Private House

Castle Rock House

SITE

Large, cranked and hilly with the prescribed building platform positioned on the crest of the seaside knoll.

VIEWS

- South facing sea view, north facing mountain view.

Castle Rock House
Castle Rock House

FEATURES

– A mature Pohutukawa tree is on the knoll. A watercourse and associated wet gully runs along the eastern boundary accented by a large boulder.

The knoll drops off sharply to a crescent shaped bay fringed with mature trees.

Castle Rock House
Castle Rock House

CONSTRAINTS

The building platform on the knoll has an 8m rolling height limit.

BRIEF

A holiday house for primarily summer use with a boatshed /garage. The house will not be used as a permanent residence.

Castle Rock House
Castle Rock House

CONCEPT

This building is a continuation of our exploration in a genre of building that is specifically design for occupation in the summer months.

In the design process we attempt to challenge the boundaries between the built form and nature to heighten the experience of immersion in nature.

We challenge also the accepted levels of comfort and utility for the same reason. We attempt also to reference the nostalgia surrounding the “Kiwi bach” by manipulating scale, form, relationships, materiality and limitation of amenity.

Castle Rock House
Castle Rock House

RESPONSE

Break the building into 2 primary components in order to reduce the scale and to allow the bach to follow the contour of the land.

Create a single cut in the knoll and retain it with a gabion wall, this sets up a spine around which the components can be ordered.

Separate the functions by a full level to allow a panoramic view from the living level and to step the house down towards the beach.

Castle Rock House
Castle Rock House

The living pavilion is articulated as a series of 4 spaces in a pinwheel arrangement; a kitchen, a lounge and 2 covered decks.

The kitchen aspects towards both the north and south deck depending on the prevailing wind conditions by manipulating a series of doors and shutters.

Castle Rock House
Castle Rock House

A stair drops to the lower level and penetrates the gabion wall, a covered outside walkway running along the gabion wall connects to the bedroom spaces.

The stair continues on axis with a powerful rock formation at the base of the slope to make the connection to the beach.

A black stained rainscreen cladding introduces a crenulated layering which peels open in part to allow views and privacy or wind screening.

Structural timbers are generally exposed and left without color embellishment.


Castle Rock House
Castle Rock House


Castle Rock House
© Gabriel
Castle Rock House
© Gabriel
Castle Rock House
© Gabriel

Herbst Architects Ltd
T +64 9 3779106
Herbst Architects Ltd
The Wedge 80 Mackelvie Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland 1021, New Zealand