Lake Tarawera
2022 Grand Designs NZ (channel 1 TVNZ) - Featured Ep3 - Lake Tarawera Home
Stuff article: Grand Designs NZ: 'It's quite some bach' is an understatement
Photographer—David Straight
The Lake Tarawera House, nestled on a serene lakeside site in the Bay of Plenty, is the final family home to bridge the owner's past with their future.
As you pass the curved block wall of the entryway and move inside, a gradual unveiling of beauty awaits, revealing a panoramic view from the open-plan living area. With expansive glass doors, the boundaries between inside and outside are allowed to dissolve onto an elegantly floating front deck. The home sweeps out of the landscape with serpentine retaining walls below.
To the north east, each space is articulated to make the most of a particular view. While to the south west, the spine of the house contains service area for all the practical functions of a home.
Throughout the interior, carefully selected timbers, crafted stonework and natural materials provide warmth and character.
Designed with forever in mind, every detail, from the cleverly crafted exterior to the fine finishing touches, contributes to a home where life is lived fully and presently.
The cantilevered floating decks allow the landscape to tuck under the house - gently sitting the house onto its expansive environment.
We used Studio Brick Architects to help design and build our dream home, we presented our original sketch, that we had drawn on an A4 piece of paper to Jeremy and from there on he enhanced our design putting his own thoughts and ideas into our original concept.
Jeremy was easy to work with during the build process, we made some small changes half way through the build and Jeremy was most accomodating with these.
The house when it was finished was beyond our expectations and would recommend Jeremy to anyone contemplating a renovation or new build.
Stewart & Gill Moss (homeowner)
Few sites have the character and stunning natural beauty of this Lake Tarawera house - stretching lake vistas give way to rolling forested mountains and commanding rocky mount Tarawera.
The house is entered from the west – via the textured curved walls and a reduced material palette. It is a purposeful approach that manages the way the home and the landscape beyond are revealed.
A skylight over the entire shower brings in natural light at any hour.
