Outside the box

Prefabricated holiday homes have long been somewhat predictable and conventional in terms of design humble retreats that provide the basics and little else. At the other end of the scale, are the high-end, architect-designed luxury beach houses that fall into the seriously unaffordable price bracket.

The design team behind the house featured on these pages believed there had to be a middle ground a modular, semi-prefabricated option where good architecture was not compromised and costs were not overrun.

The result is a new company, Box Living, which was formed by general manager Dan Heyworth, architect Tim Dorrington, builder Nat Jakich and construction manager Nat Holloway. Designed to provide high-quality modular homes, the system has the flexibility to be adapted to suit a wide range of client requirements and site conditions, and provides the certainty of a fixed price.

"All Box Living homes reflect a modernist architectural influence, and are well suited to holiday homes and family living," Heyworth says. "This house, for example, was designed for a busy family that likes to escape to the coast for weekends and extended holidays."

As with every Box Living project, this house was built to a flexible grid, in multiples of 1.2m. The grid system means many of the components can be fabricated off site, including posts and beams, pre-painted wall panels and roof components. These are all precut and drilled to provide a speedy construction.

"Every site is different, and every client's brief is different, which is why we developed a very flexible system," says Heyworth. "The post and beam engineered timber structure, and the stainless steel cross braces are exposed, so you can see just how easy it is to move walls, partitions or openings. These in-between elements are not structural so can be altered easily. An open-plan living area, for example, could be easily partitioned off to create separate rooms. Or a wall could be removed between two rooms to provide one large space."

Heyworth says the system minimises waste materials and requires foundations that are less intrusive than conventional buildings.

For this house on a slightly sloping site, there was a need to maximise great sea views in one direction, and valley views in the other. To this end, the large, open-plan living area is positioned on the top floor. Beside the entry on the lower level is a cantilevered box wing, which accommodates children's bedrooms.

The main living area provides a central, galley-style kitchen, with a lounge seating area at one end, and a dining room at the other.

"The engineered timber allows us to get huge spans, so we can maximise the size of the rooms as well as the windows and doors that open onto the decks," says Heyworth.

Providing alternative outdoor living areas was essential for the exposed site. In addition to a covered dining deck and a roof deck on the east side of the house, there is a lower deck facing to the west.

On the interior, bold colour accents contrast with pale wood floors. The kitchen cabinetry unit is lacquered in a high-gloss red that matches the front door. Simplicity defines the rest of the kitchen, which also features Okuplex ply cabinets and a stainless steel benchtop.

Further savings were provided by specifying modular, powdercoated spiral stair elements, timber balustrades inside, and by the speed at which the house was constructed.

Story by: Colleen Hawkes

Photography by: Paul McCredie