Trends New Zealand NZ New Home Trends Vol. 30/4 | Page 20

Preceding pages: A front facade of
glass, Balinese stone and Alucobond
creates an attractive composition
in this private, expansive house by
architect Mark Rietveld.
Above: The wooden frame of the
portico is almost the only indication
of where indoor living ends and the
outdoor begins.
Far right: On view from the living
areas, the wine cellar is behind glass
and is accessed from the larder.

18

In architecture, a negative can be turned to
a positive at a stroke – what starts as a need to
screen out a neighbour may end in a winning
addition to the residence.
The profile of this long, linear two-storey
home was influenced by its neighbours on both
sides. Architect Mark Rietveld was asked to
design the house on a strip of land running east
to west. To avoid blocking sun for the southern
neighbour, the house is lower on that side, with
a curved roof rising to open the residence to its
northern aspect the other way, says Rietveld.
“However, on this sunny side of the home,

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there’s another two-storey house nearby. With
close neighbours on both sides, we opted to
create our own internal landscape for the house.
“To achieve this, an indoor-outdoor room
runs almost the length of the residence on the
northern side – this looks out to a lush garden
environment with pool and spa,” says Rietveld.
“We defined the outdoor setting with a brick
portico frame that encourages the entire area to
be read as an open-air room, an extension of the
indoor environment.
“This portico also functions to screen the
next-door neighbour from view.”