Church Bay House

Spectacular views from a gently sloping Church Bay site across Lyttleton Harbour are tempered by the locale, a rather ordinary residential subdivision.

Context is always a key driver initiating opportunities, or setting constraints.

Arrangements of forms in this instance seek to filter out the unpredictable nature of design responses from neighbours. By stretching the arrangement of spaces across the site in two directions, the house, a long elevated timber box containing the living functions hovers above a concrete base containing bedrooms. The garage is a separate element providing further screening whilst setting up a private court that opens to the sun and views.

A bridge from the street provides a tenuous connection to the outside world, a gangway of sorts to the container moored against the bank referencing to the port beyond.