Rosetta Road Beach House

NZIA Wellington Architecture Award, 2008

“A carefully judged amalgam of the New Zealand bach and the modern pavilion, this opens generously towards the water yet neither dominates nor claims the beach edge…….Special and commonplace materials are successfully combined for a result that is both sophisticated and relaxed”, NZIA Awards Jury, 2008.

This small house on the beach at Raumati is a very simple form, discreetly folded between neighbours. It is deceptively simple, with rooms that are large but few, and open but with complete privacy. This house demonstrates that a home need not be huge to be made of luxuriously large spaces.

All the bach necessities are provided: open family room, outdoor shower, fireplace, and direct beach access. Yet careful and robust construction ensures that it is not just a summer-only house.

All year living is not only practical, but offers the attractions of watching a storm strike the windows while the open fire blazes.

The clichés of the bach are often shabby decrepitude or expansive glazed mansions.  This small house on the beach shows that there is a completely different and better way to live on the coast.