7/30/2019 Gray House Whangamata

1/3

57

u n o

56

UNO . ARCHITECTURE

WORDS ANDY MARTIN/JORGEN FRANDSEN / PHOTOS ISAAC BRIGHT

modern bach

THIS WHANGAMATA BACH IS A STUDY OF UNDERSTATED ElEGANCE

AND SIMplICITY, YET ITS COMFY AS AN OlD pAIR OF JANDAlS.

WE CAUGHT Up WITH REGISTERED ARCHITECT JORGEN FRANDSEN

FROM AMBIENTI TEAM ARCHITECTS FOR A CHAT ABOUT THE BACH.

7/30/2019 Gray House Whangamata

2/3

59

u n o

58

UNO . ARCHITECTURE

UNO . ARCHITECTURE

What was the clients brief to you?

The c ients wanted a modern bach whichref ected the va ues of their existing bach:informa , cosy and beachy. We ta ked aboutthe fact that this house wou d start as a

bach and eventua y end u as a ermanenthome for our c ients. Our brief was retty

oose and gave us ots of room to ay with.

What key elements drove the design? On the face of it, the ayout is very sim e.Maximising the sun, and using our ocaknow edge, we made sure that there areways of getting out of the wind, which, inthe Coromande , can be quite vicious. Thiswas main y achieved by using wra arounddecks, as we as a ste ed in deck at the

ower eve . I am fascinated by the nature and ightof New Zea and, so obvious y we tried tomaximise the views to the sea, as weas making the house s acious, a owingfor enty of fami y ex ansion over thefestive season. This resu ted in a mu ti-useab e basement that can be usedse arate y as we as for conventiona guestaccommodation. The garage and rum usare interconnected via a huge s iding door,a owing the garage to become a art ofone arger rum us area.

My c ient is a bui der, and has very exactingstandards for both his work and themateria s he wants to use, so meticu ousdetai ing was a big art of this job. It was a

easure to work with a true craftsman, whoa reciated and fo owed our detai ing tothe etter.

What used to occupy the site and what sitepreparation was required prior to buildingon this elevated section?

The c ients had a ove y o d bach on the site;a very quintessentia NZ bach, but not rea y

big enough for the extended fami y, us itwasnt rea y insu ated to todays standards.Site re aration was rea y just carting offthe o d bach, and making sure that the sitewas rotected from storm water f ow aths.A art from this, the on y tricky art withany ong and skinny section is obvious y toobserve the day ighting anes, but we have

enty of ex erience with this from designingbui dings at Mount Maunganui and othersimi ar aces.

How big is the house and whats the basicdesign?

The house is a roximate y 260 m2 intwo eve s. U stairs, it consists of masterbedroom with en suite and wardrobe, guestbedroom, main bathroom (that acts as asemi en suite), kitchen, dining, iving and avery interesting o en ibrary that connectswith the entry void. Downstairs are twobedrooms sharing bathroom faci ities, a

arge rum us room, aundry, outdoor showerand doub e garage. The ha is a fantasticdoub e height void with a very im ressiveo en stair eading u to the main f oor.

What exterior cladding materials did youchoose and why?

The house is bui t in concrete masonry,stack bonded and honed, with the featurewa in stained cedar. Cei ings are TasmanianOak, and the roof structure is ex osed e oxy

7/30/2019 Gray House Whangamata

3/3

61

u n o

60

1.

WHANGAMATA WOODWORKS

P 07 865 7947 / 108 Lindsay Rd Whangamata

Whangamata Woodworks designer lorraine Fu er has created a Cabinetry Co ectionwith designs for the kitchen, the vanities and through to the kitchenette. Shadow- inehand es, a uminum and g ass frames, and Themoformed Dezignatek doors create subt edetai . Combine this with custom-made cabinets and lED ighting crafted and insta ed byWhangamata Woodworks.

UN O

.

A R C HI T E

C T UR E

1.

TERRY GRAY BUILDERS

P 027 477 1039 / tgbuild@xtra.co.nz

Terry Gray Bui ders have been bui ding with ride for over 30 years.As a registered Master Bui der, Terry and his team are assionate about exceedingex ectations when it comes to the overa bui ding ex erience. The attention to detai and his

assion for this is c ear y ref ected in the finished roduct.

treated stee . Materia s were chosen for owmaintenance, with a ot of em hasis onchoosing the right surface treatments of themateria s.

How many outdoor zones are there and howdo they all work?

There is an outdoor wra around decku stairs, which eads to a ha fway deck onthe backside of the house (away from theafternoon sea breeze). Downstairs, there isa fair y arge garden at the back, as we as aste ed in terrace off the rum us room.

What aspects of the exterior are you mostproud of and why?

In many res ects this is a further study ofthe Henderson house we did in Te NgaioRoad at the Mount some years ago, whichwon the ADNZ design award in 2007. It isbased around a very structured modu ardesign, but in the Grays house we have

taken it a bit further in ots of ways. Thisroject was fun to design, and we had aerfect c ient who shared the visions and

goa s of the initia sketch, so hard y anythingchanged from conce tion to rea isation. Thisis a ways going to give the best resu t.

How was the internal design approached?

As I said before, because the initia idea,based on a modu ar design hi oso hy, was

eft com ete y intact, the interior cametogether a most automatica y, and withJacquis safe sense of materia s, co oursand furniture, it is remarkab y homogenous.Of course the idea of the f oating roofis a bit of an Ambienti trademark, whichyou can a so see in one of our atestdesigns current y being constructed on theEs anade in Whangamata. This sense ofroominess gives something extra to a house,and adds to the very im ortant indooroutdoor fee that characterises modern NewZea and architecture.

What internal aspects please youespecially?

probab y the ove y o en an, the senseof arriva with the o en void and theambience that on y to qua ity materia s andcraftsmanshi gives you.

Final comments?

In my view the Gray residence sits wein a ine of modern Ambienti housesin the region. It is consistent with ourdesign hi oso hy, which is basica y toendeavour to merge form and function to acontem orary iece of architecture that wiendure the test of time. I fee that we havedone so in this case. The house sits we onthe site. It is im osing without being f ashy,yet very much a roduct of its time.

UNO . ARCHITECTURE