6x6

HOUSES

28 Oct

Written By First Light Studio

Having previously experienced Korean apartment life, the decision to go small was neither daunting nor unfamiliar.

Plus, with Hutt City Council’s proposed plan changes to promote densification, the ability to downsize on-site meant staying close while allowing the next [growing] generation to move into the family home.

A beat-up double garage in the back corner of the property provided a perfect platform for redevelopment.

2021 NZIA New Zealand Architecture Award - Winner
2021 NZIA Wellington Architecture Award - Housing

Built: 2019
Engineer: CERTA Engineering
Builder: Black Sheep Construction
Images: Andy Spain
By playfully adopting motifs from its surroundings, the resulting 48m2, self-contained studio sits naturally (albeit bodly) in context. Its slim steel awning recreates the curved verandah canopies of the neighbourhood villas; its soaring peak nods to gable finnials… even the vertical corrugate connects to the horizontal cladding of the villa extension, a recent contemporary. And rich recycled timber siding gives a rustic, grounded and tactile quality to the otherwise lofty and geometric form.
At 36m2, the ground floor works hard to accommodate bathroom, kitchen, living, circulation, and concurrent work-from-home activities, where private tutoring requires spatial separation from other goings-on.
The layout pushes all the functions to the extremities of the plan, freeing up the centre for flexible occupation. Located in each corner, expressed plywood elements sit within the larger envelope. They either enclose private space, such as the bathroom, or comprise/contain custom joinery pieces that can convert the central area depending on the activity at hand, ie allowing the dining room to double as a classroom (with blackboard). Above, a 12m2 mezzanine provides a loft bedroom tucked into the space created by the steep apex of the building’s angular roof planes. With a pleasant outlook it provides a sunny retreat in which a digital nomad can work when the ground floor is otherwise occupied.
Large bifolding doors open onto a timber deck which, teamed with sunny lawn, works to extend the cube’s living space physically and perceptually. Clever landscaping, new planting and a staggered fenceline facilitate privacy between the two new ‘backyards’ without shutting the properties off from one another.
This former garage punches above its diminutive footprint, both in the feeling of space, the functionality therein, and the service to its wider family. The redeployment of a seldom-used storage space has been a creative way of downsizing without the need to leave a desirable location. More than this, though; a close family unit can continue to enjoy the family home, and a younger generation can step into property ownership despite today’s limited housing opportunities.
The High St Cube is an inherently sustainable addition to its neighbourhood. The clients have stayed on site in central Petone, doing their bit to increase the residential capacity of the property and thus contributing to the sustainable development of Lower Hutt as a whole. Because it is a house for two, it has been sized accordingly – which also has a direct [reduced] impact on resource use, physically and materially in its construction, as well as energy-wise over its lifetime.
Low-maintenance, durable, locally abundant – and for the most part recyclable – materials have been utilised. Oriented for the sun, with an insulated concrete floor, thermally-broken double-glazed joinery and a higher-than-code thermal envelope means the house will maintain a comfortable temperature without much need for active heating or cooling throughout the year. Appliances and lighting fixtures were selected for their low energy consumption. Feature materials are timber; on the interior, untreated pine plywood and the exterior, recycled macrocarpa and cedar stockpiled by the clients over time.
Finally, lifestyle-wise, the clients continue their sustainable stewardship. By downsizing to accommodate reduced spatial needs, they in turn enable the ‘kids’ to upsize according to theirs. The brief called for the continued ability to work from home. This – coupled with the fact that their off-the-clock babysitting ‘work commitments’ are mere metres away and central Petone not much further – results in very little vehicular transport ever being required.
2021 NZIA New Zealand Architecture Awards
Winner - Small Project Architecture
Jury's comment: On the 6x6-metre footprint of a former garage, this backyard infill home for downsizers complements and draws from a 112-year-old main villa on a suburban Petone site. With its cleverly worked diagonal plan, The Cube provides surprisingly loose-fit volumes for personalised living and working across two zones, that each extend out under a slim canopy of steel and recycled timber to adjacent gardens. Up a staircase, an open-sided loft bedroom fits snugly into the double-height space formed by a steeply pitched hipped gable roof, while well-placed windows and skylights provide focused views and ample natural light that animates the material warmth of the home’s ply and plasterboard interior. This deceptively simple and well-loved little house has a spatial complexity and generosity well beyond its humble dimensions and budget and provides an excellent and timely precedent for densification and multi-generational living on suburban sites.
2021 NZIA Wellington Architecture Award
Winner - Housing
Jury's comment: A home for downsizers, this intelligent backyard infill home has been scaled accordingly. No space is wasted – the 36-square-metre footprint doubles as a classroom with sliding blackboard that allows tutoring from home. A loft bedroom fits snugly into the steeply pitched roof, making the most of the rationed volume, ample natural light, and the material warmth of the interior. Cunningly sited on the footprint of an existing garage, the home opens to a private garden accessed under a slim canopy of steel and recycled timber from the owner’s old farm shed. The design successfully combines affordability, liveability and sustainability, creating a haven that must be a joy to reside in.