OUTSIDE THE SQUARE

Every now and then a design comes along which is a significant development in the evolution of domestic architecture, a design that could well become a common feature in 20 years' time.

One such design is this award-winning combination of house and glasshouse at Paraparaumu by Auckland architect Nigel Cook.

Cook toyed for years with the idea of making the garden into the living room, always believing we could enjoy outdoor living as much as we wanted if we could simply keep the wind and rain off. The protected microclimate of the high-tech commercial glasshouse was an obvious source of inspiration.

"New Zealand has a benign climate, supremely user-friendly there are no frontiers, no wild animals and no poisonous things. The solid, multi-purpose shell we normally use in housing is therefore unnecessary," he maintains.

But it was several years before Cook found clients brave enough to allow him to realise his original ideas. Cook's clients wanted a house for themselves and an 80-year-old mother.

Having lived in Fiji, they loved the warmth and luxuriant growth of the tropics and wanted to recreate a similar environment.

The house is made up of rooms plugged into a state-of-the-art steel-frame glasshouse.

"It is not a conservatory, which is merely an adjunct to a house, but a second, controlled environment, which allows the house to be in constant contact with the outside," says Cook.

A red, corrugated iron barn on the site set the tone for the exterior wall cladding and roof of the individual rooms.

"Physically, we have enjoyed the warmth and the light of the house," says the homeowner. "We are constantly aware of the state of the weather and have learned more about the heavens while sitting in the spa pool than we ever have from textbooks. Everything that happens outside is there before us. Our enjoyment of the house is in the way it brings the environment to the forefront of our attention, encouraging us to experience the changes of the day."

Story by: Trendsideas