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The 120kg fireplace is suspended from the ceiling and rotates 360 degrees.
A little house near Pakiri will be beamed into living rooms around the country when it is featured in the first-ever episode of New Zealand Grand Designs next month.
The house was completed by local contractors – Steve Haycock Construction built the house with elements completed by MS Engineering, Matakana Kitchens and Warkworth Sheet Metals.
The house, on the Pakiri Tablelands subdivision, was built for Scottish expat Scott Lawrie, who divides his time between Auckland, Pakiri and Sydney.
The two-bedroom 120m2 house has an angular copper exterior which encloses an oiled cedar interior with views to Pakiri beach.
It was designed by Auckland architect Paul Clarke from Studio2 Architects, who won an NZIA Local Award for Architecture for the design.
“We spent a year on it,” Scott says. “We worked out the design to the last millimetre, which made the construction process far easier. There were no alterations mid-build and the construction didn’t run over budget. I knew exactly how it was going to end up. I wouldn’t do anything differently.”
The process included testing the design in wind tunnels.
“We had 100km winds during construction. Building with vertical walls puts so much more pressure on the building; you have to use more steel bracing for the structure. The angles help reduce that pressure.”
Computer models were also used to plan the length and height of walls to match the placement of artwork and other furnishings.
After leaving Scotland 15 years ago, Scott’s job in advertising took him around the world. He lived in Auckland for six months before spending two years in Wellington. He has been living in Sydney for 10 years, where he started his own company which attracted clients including Ikea, Subaru and Toyota. But he sold the company and decided to return to NZ to build his dream home.
“I wanted to live within two hours of Auckland airport and have sea views. I looked for land for a long time, but as soon as I came here I knew.”
Builder Steve Haycock says it was an extremely challenging build.
“The angles of the walls and roof not only go inwards, but also taper horizontally throughout the house. It was very difficult to know where things were going to start and finish. And everything had to be exactly right because there are no skirting boards.
“It was also a challenging site because it’s so exposed and access is poor.”
Steve worked for 10 months on the build with foreman Phil Isted running the job.
“It took twice as long as you’d expect for a building this size, because it was so complex.”
The film crew was on site once a month during pivotal points in the build.
“They tried to find drama to report, but the build went remarkably smoothly.”
Steve Haycock Construction won a gold award in the Nulook New Home $650,000 category at the Auckland Registered Master Builders 2015 House of the Year competition and will compete for the top award in the national finals in November.
The Pakiri house will feature on Grand Designs on TV3 next month.
