Valley:Gable

This was a great opportunity with a rural site in Long Gully Station high above Brooklyn. The site is essentially flat with views down over a native bush-clad valley and stream with the western hills, Makara wind farm, and the South Island beyond. The owners sold their compact bungalow in Brooklyn for more space and a connection to the outdoors. They were keen to have a simple barn type approach with exposed structure internally. We proposed a very simple extruded gable with 45-degree roof and walls of freezer panel and feature panels of brightly painted cement board and glazing. It is planned on 1m module that is 6m wide x 18m long footprint with 1/2 mezzanine and 1/2 open cathedral living space. The end western bay with views is set back in for a ‘tongue’ of timber deck that protrudes out over the bush. The structure is heavy glue-laminated timber portal frames with steel cross braced frames on a double concrete slab with hydronic central heating. The house sits well as an unassuming barn in a rural landscape, but reveals itself internally with the smooth metal panels, heavy timber structure expressed steel bracketry and simple industrial materials of concrete, strand board, plywood that come together as a cathedral-like space.