Cooper Beach House – Contemporary Design In New Zealand

Tim Dorrington Architects & Associates built the Cooper Beach House in the far north of New Zealand in 2007. The idea was to build a multi-family house in this suburban, beach-side site. Because of the suburban nature of the site, it was all the more important for the architects to build a house keeping the privacy of the inhabitants in mind, but at the same time not obstruct outside views and light.

The house opens up to the north and the west, capturing the best of both these sides. The house is basically made up of four main elements – a bedroom block, a living pavilion, a garage and lastly, the corridor that links all these elements together.

The living pavilion is situated north of the bedroom block. It is designed in a manner that evokes the memory of the camp site that occupied this place for a long time. In order to have a casual living outlook, the living pavilion opens up completely on two sides. This has been done to resemble a traditional Kiwi family camping location.

A polycarbonate corridor links the basement of the bedroom & the garage with the rest of the house. This corridor has been designed as a breezeway & acts as the connecting plane between all the elements of the house.

Nothing is known as to how much the owner spent on building this house. But the materials used reflect the fact the budget was quite tight. Bondor panels have been used on the sloped roof. Things like clear sealed concrete blocks, corrugated polycarbonate sheets, plywood cladding, polished concrete floors & meranti & hoop ply cabinetry imparts a rather rustic look to the house. 

Looking for a Contractor?