76 | Coastal home stars Massive exposed macrocarpa rafters are a feature of the expansive home. Seear-Budd Ross T T Richard Loader ARCHITECTURE A large coastal home architecturally designed by young Wellington practice Seear-Budd Ross been rewarded with success at this year’s Wellington regional New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) awards. Designed for a young family with a penchant for entertaining, the expansive home was the first standalone home that SeearBudd Ross had been commissioned to design since the practice was established four years ago. Thomas Seear-Budd says the client was also the builder and wanted the home to showcase the skills and craftmanship that his building team could offer clients. “The project was set up to succeed right from the start, and we were very happy with the end results, as was the owner. The judges are from around the country, and visit each entry in the awards. It’s always nice to be recognised by your peers, both in the shortlisting and the award itself. “As business owners, it’s nice to be recognised as award winning, and it’s good for the client and the building team to have a project recognised nationally. The judges were impressed by the overall architectural design, the way it flowed and the way it was positioned on the site in relation to neighbouring properties. It’s a big home and it was important that it looked as though it belonged in its context, and wasn’t overbearing, which we achieved through the roof lines.” Positioned on a 520sqm section next to the harbour in Eastbourne, just out of Lower Hutt, the five bedrooms/ three bathrooms home encompasses just under 400sqm, and is designed to flex between family living, and entertaining with guests staying overnight. Thomas says that in keeping with the coastal location the owners wanted the home to feel very light and quite informal. “The home is split into two pavilions, with the living pavilion at the front, a courtyard in the middle, and a sleeping pavilion at the back, with the two pavilions separated by a glass corridor. Both pavilions have a hipped roof, but the roof on the sleeping pavilion is taller to accommodate bedrooms.” Amongst the many features that highlight both clever design and the craftsmanship of the builder bringing the designs to life, the low-slung hipped roof at the front is finished with an aluminium panel that conceals the spouting and down pipes. Sand-coloured heat-treated pine timber exterior wall cladding are detailed in tiny 2mm negatives between deep boards, with the modulation fitting perfectly from the ground to the underside of the roof. Simplistic in appearance, but challenging to achieve in practice. Other features include a five-metre long cantilevered gate at the front where cars are parked, while inside the home massive exposed macrocarpa rafters are amongst the assemblage of natural timbers, all beautifully crafted and meeting the brief to showcase the craftsmanship of the builder, RJC Building. The architectural practice of Seear-Budd Ross was born four years ago. Thomas and his business partner James Ross were both working for a large commercial architectural practice but strongly felt the need to establish a small boutique practice with a focus on crafted residential projects, and placing the customer at the heart off their business. “Operating our own business was also a key feature,” explains Thomas. “We started with a few small commissions including bathrooms and kitchen alterations, before the Eastbourne project came along two years later. Having a project like Eastbourne come into the office early, be built very quickly and then showcased has been very good for us in terms of getting our name as architectural craftsmen into the public domain. We are now working on homes right across the country. Taking good care of our clients is very important to us. There’s just the two of us and so all the contact is with us all the way through.” de Bes Electrical www.debeselectrical.co.nz Structural Design • 3D Static & Dynamic Structural Analyses • Seismic Assessment & Strengthening Focus Engineering Consultants are proud to support Seear-Budd Ross on another successful project.
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