Salamanca House / Parsonson Architects

Architects: Parsonson Architects
Location: Salamanca, New Zealand
Project Team: Gerald Parsonson, Craig Burt, Caroline Tyrrell, Sam Donald
Structural Engineer: Clendon Burns and Park Consulting Engineers
Builder: Hanns Construction
Project Area: 310 sqm
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Patrick Reynolds

This site was subdivided from the original property which contained an existing house designed and lived in by the Government Architect John Campbell in the early 1900’s. It is historically listed and we were therefore keen for the new house to be lower and more subservient in its appearance to the original house while at the same time relating to it formally.

There were many restrictions on the property. The site was tight and relatively steep, the combined properties could not exceed the 50% inner residential site coverage and the new house was required to fit within all sunlight recession planes.

The resultant dwelling fully utilizes its site. Space for the bedrooms and garaging was excavated below, forming a base to the lighter living spaces above. The roof is clad in zinc and is cut and folded cleanly to focus views out to the harbour and diagonally to the trees, while at the same time providing a sense of enclosure and privacy.