Elderberry House

by Warren and Mahoney

From the Architect

This central Auckland suburb residence by Warren and Mahoney is a simple L-shaped composition of stacked forms nestled along the high ridge line within a confined Remuera internal site and accessed via a long private driveway. A black zinc clad upper level hovers effortlessly over an elevated landscape plane, accommodating both openable internal living areas an outdoor external pool and recreational space; all capable for providing a generous entertaining platform. A double-height outdoor living space connects the geometries at the point of vertical circulation, driving daylight deep into the plan and acting as an orientation space within the home.

The simple geometries belie the complexity of accommodating the briefed area within a highly constrained site over three levels of accommodation. The brief required a design outcome which was totally compliant with planning controls to ensure a non-notified Resource Consent could be achieved. The internal site shares boundaries with neighbouring properties on three sides with a shared right-of-way on the fourth. Accordingly, privacy was a primary concern of the client and brief, to which the design responds by incorporating a range of layered privacy devices – from the white vertical louvres along the eastern entrance, to the operable sliding mesh screens which shroud the highly glazed upper level facing west.

The living areas within the house are simple and minimally detailed open spaces – able to be completely opened up and connected through large sliding doors or used as discrete spaces separated by the internal courtyard. Kitchen, family gathering, and front-of-house spaces are carefully detailed to conceal services and functional requirements. The materiality is simple and restrained – zinc, glass, steel, concrete, stone and timber – delivering a rich, and tactile experience, enhanced by the filtered light and shadow provided by the screening devices. The result is a calm and ordered living experience which responds to the rhythms of the day and season.