Trends New Zealand NZ New Home Trends Vol. 30/4 | Page 88

Double
vision
Overlooking a valley, this
house also has views
to the hill behind

Above: With a low profile and a
living roof, this house merges into
the landscape. The pared-back,
modern design is by architectural
firm Turnbull Griffin Haesloop.
Right: Living spaces open up to a
sheltered courtyard and lap pool.
The grass roof provides insulation
and filters rainwater to ensure a slow
run-off, which helps prevent erosion.

86

Set on a steep incline overlooking mountain
and sea, a house will enjoy a private window on
nature. But there are many more ways a home
can connect with its environment, from choice
of materials to a focus on all things sustainable.
This new house, designed by architects
Eric Haesloop and Mary Griffin, with interior
design by Margaret T urnbull, and input from
the owners, is sited to capture views of Mount
Tamalpais and the San Francisco Bay. It also
engages the hillside behind – a retaining wall
follows the undulating contours of the hill and
anchors the house to the steep face.
“The house has a loose U shape, with the
central form set out from the hillside by an internal courtyard with a lap pool – the living spaces
all open out to this sheltered area,” Haesloop
says. “The master suite at one end and garage at
the other link back to the hill, completing the U.
“Setting the house out in this way provides
views up the hillside. At the front, the home has
a panoramic outlook over the valley. The overall
effect is a little like an eagle’s eyrie, and birds
often soar past the front deck.”
Almost invisible from the road above, the
house has a living grass roof, with three pop-up
roofs on a steeper angle rising above. These
correspond to the living space, the dining and
kitchen volume and the master bedroom.
“The angled roofs allowed us to include
clerestory windows that improve the vistas to
the slope behind,” says Haesloop.” They also
optimise sunlight capture for the photovoltaic
cells on the roofs and create higher, more airy
interiors in the spaces directly beneath them.”
Besides the grass roof, which offers passive
drainage and insulation, and the solar panels,
the exteriors reflect a care for the environment
in choice of materials. The cladding is in ipê, a
hardwood noted for its longevity that needs no
finish, and concrete with a 30% component of
fly ash, a recycled industrial by-product.

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