PITCHED FOR FAMILY AND EASE

Photos Simon Devitt

Thoughtful collaboration and clever design turned a challenging hillside site in Kaipara into a place of retreat and connection.

Designed by architect and owner Peggy Deamer, with close input from draughtsman Stephen Orchard and Pete Richards of PR Builders, this was a project guided by a simple, efficient brief: to create a modest one-bedroom home alongside a platform large enough to accommodate three standing-height tents. Together, the 58-square-metre house and guest platform would offer a cost-effective way to host family and friends while preserving the rugged terrain.

Central to the design were the tents, purchased before the drawings were finalised. They set the parameters for space, scale, and layout. The house itself was intentionally designed to read like a farm building rather than a suburban home, with corrugated metal cladding grounding it in its rural context. Even the water tank was treated as a deliberate design feature, wrapped in the same corrugated material to unify the composition and avoid any sense of concealment.

The most technically ambitious element was the guest platform. Rather than relying on perimeter posts, the roof is suspended from central columns, echoing the form of the main house and giving the appearance of floating lightly above the site. This structure also serves a practical role, collecting rainwater that is stored in the tank below.

The design was closely shaped by the land. The house faces east to take in sweeping views, while the platform is oriented north in anticipation of solar panels yet to be installed. Together they form an L-shaped arrangement, balancing function with a strong sense of place.

What makes the project stand out is not only its compact scale but also the process behind it: a genuine collaboration between architect, designer, and builder that transformed a minimal brief into a distinctive and highly liveable outcome.

This house shows that simplicity, when paired with clarity of vision, can deliver something both practical and poetic – a small footprint that makes a big impression.

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