LOW IMPACT

Many designs may claim to have been influenced by the landscape, but most still make quite an impact on their surroundings. On occasion, though, a house will slip into its site almost unnoticed, barely making a mark on its environment.

This low-impact approach was part of the brief for architect Andre Hodgskin when he designed a new home on an isolated, bush-clad site.

The owner was seeking a retreat in the true sense of the word, somewhere to escape to that was designed around the surroundings rather than apart from them, says Hodgskin.

"With a space cleared that was just big enough for the footprint of the building, steel portals were marched along the site to form the structure of the house."

Finished in the same colour as the bark of the kanuka trees that dominate the site, the structure is braced at either end by steel stays. The roof has been slung from the resulting framework, and the floor too is supported by this network of steel.

"The house is a very honest structure," says Hodgskin, "with the details of its form being fully expressed."

On the bush side of the site, a more solid wall contains the kitchen appliances, storage, and a fireplace. This same wall has a series of sliding doors leading to the exterior deck.

Placed on the southern side of the home and contoured to suit the encroaching bush, the deck receives protection from too much sun thanks to the shadow of the house itself. Two other decks sit at either end of the home.

The opposite wall, facing the view, is constructed entirely of glass and aluminium framing. To provide some degree of shelter from the sun, a lattice screens the interior.

The long run of the open-plan space ends at a set of cupboards, beyond the kitchen area, that conceals a study and other day-to-day trappings. On either side of this hidden study are sets of stairs, leading up to the master bedroom and down to the guest room.

Story by: Trendsideas