An Architect’s Family Home in Auckland Is Inspired by the Māori Worldview

This home by TOA Architects celebrates contrast and draws inspiration from the name of the road—Tuarangi—which means "outer space."

Jul 30, 2020 - 03:51
An Architect’s Family Home in Auckland Is Inspired by the Māori Worldview

This home by TOA Architects celebrates contrast and draws inspiration from the name of the road—Tuarangi—which means "outer space."

The house fronts the street with the large top story and a sharply angled roof that defines the staircase, creating a striking form—especially at night, when it is lit up from within.

New Zealand architect Craig Wilson had been living in a small, single-bedroom home in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn for six years when he decided it was time to build a new home for his young family. "It’s a great site, close to the city, but we were living in a tiny 47-square-meter house built in 1953, and it was falling down around us," he says. "We wanted to make an architectural statement."

The house fronts the street with the large top story and a sharply angled roof that defines the staircase, creating a striking form—especially at night, when it is lit up from within.

The house fronts the street with the large top story and a sharply angled roof that defines the staircase, creating a striking form—especially at night, when it is lit up from within.

David Straight

Craig was working for a large commercial firm at the time, so he approached his university friend Nicholas Dalton, the founder of TOA Architects, to design the home. Midway through the project, however, Craig began working at TOA—and by the project’s completion he was associate director at the studio.

The Douglas fir cladding is from Abodo, and the home is the first project in New Zealand to use iron vitriol to treat timber cladding. The innovative finishing option enhances the natural qualities of the band-sawn timber, creating a striking contrast with the metal cladding.

The Douglas fir cladding is from Abodo, and the home is the first project in New Zealand to use iron vitriol to treat timber cladding. The innovative finishing option enhances the natural qualities of the band-sawn timber, creating a striking contrast with the metal cladding. 

David Straight

The narrow site slopes steeply away from Tuarangi Road and finishes at the bottom of a small valley. At the back of the site is a large pōhutukawa tree, which is over a hundred years old and takes up about 25% of the site.

There is a play between really earthy, natural materials—which are seen in some of the cladding, tiles, and concrete work—and a very sleek, black metal aesthetic.

There is a play between really earthy, natural materials—which are seen in some of the cladding, tiles, and concrete work—and a very sleek, black metal aesthetic. "I have a lot of experience in commercial architecture, so I’m not scared of using more commercial, industrial materials on a residential building," says Craig.

David Straight

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