Dune House

A signature new build on the Mangawhai coast.

A new holiday home located within a coastal golf resort north of Auckland. The site, a gently sloping sand dune, provides magnificent views to the ocean beyond and over the golf course to the wider natural landscape to the west. The environment is also subject to strong winds and harsh dune conditions, so the building has been set low into the land, with flat timber rooves cantilevering out to form generous covered verandahs. The layout breaks the house into separate wings for living and sleeping zones, creating a series of sheltered courtyard spaces between. Moroccan limestone walling mimics the tone of the sand, combined with oiled cedar for both wall and ceiling planes. Colour accents come through with rusted corten steel and the peacock blues of the pool. Landscaping responds to the dune setting with desert plants, enhancing the references to mid-century American modernism in the architecture.