back to projects

mangawhai house

A house made of three boxes. Two gabled boxes hold the bedrooms and the den, and a low link between them holds the kitchen and living room. Together they make a U around a paved courtyard with a single tree.

From the street it is quiet: stained shiplap, a black steel roof and one pivot door. All the glass faces the courtyard, and a mitred corner window and a window seat bring the garden into the rooms.

year
2025
location
Mangawhai, Northland
type
House, 124 m²
status
Illustrative placeholder
Render from the street: two gabled boxes either side of a low link with a pivot front door

Three boxes

Two gables and a low link, set around a courtyard. Roofs lift away to show the rooms.

  1. Gabled roofs
  2. Rooms
  3. Link roof
  4. Courtyard
1234
Render of the courtyard at dusk, looking south through the glass wall of the living room, with the window box and the tree

Plan

Three boxes around a courtyard, with a gravel court at the entry.

  1. Entry porch
  2. Kitchen and living
  3. Courtyard
  4. Bedroom
  5. Workroom
  6. Bath and hall
  7. Den
  8. Guest and laundry
1234566788AA1440012600N2 m
4500540045001440024803960123456LONG SECTION A–ALOOKING NORTH2 m
Long sectionThrough all three boxes: two pitched roofs with the low link roof between them.

Section

The ceilings change height as you walk through: tall, low, tall.

  1. Ridge beam, ties below
  2. Insulated roof, ply ceiling
  3. Low link roof
  4. Glass wall to courtyard
  5. Doorway between boxes
  6. Strip footings
Render inside the den: an open timber roof with ties, a plywood ceiling and a window seat looking onto the courtyard
144002 mC DEN, GUEST, LAUNDRYB KITCHEN + LIVINGA WORKROOM, BEDS, BATHNORTH ELEVATIONLOOKING SOUTHCORNER WINDOWGLAZED DOORSLOW LINK ROOF
North elevationSeen from the courtyard: the corner window, the glass wall of the link and the glazed doors of the den.

Corner window

Two panes meet in a mitre with no corner post. Sections above, plan of the corner below.

  1. Shiplap on cavity
  2. LVL lintel 90×240
  3. Z-flashing
  4. Ply soffit
  5. Low-E glazing
  6. Aluminium sill
  7. Insulated wall
  8. Mitred glass joint
12345678
Aerial render of the three boxes around the courtyard, with dune grass and the sea beyond

Window seat

Exploded to show each part. It faces west and catches the afternoon sun.

  1. Steel roof plate
  2. Cedar cheeks
  3. Bolsters
  4. Loose cushion
  5. Ply seat, drawers
  6. Double glazed panel
  7. Cedar floor
1234567