This beautiful house was designed by Studio MWA and it is located in Bay of Many Coves, New Zealand. According to the architects: “The site actually combines two individual lots with total area of 4611m2,with the building platform elevated about 10 meters above the sea level, at the lower level of the hilly site.The lovely positioned cottage was a single storied two bedroom building with a simple weatherboard finish and pitched Colorsteel roof, the dwelling was nicely nestled into the surrounding native bush. The client very much loved it and it was quite a difficult decision we together did to actually remove it from the site and design something new in its place. While it was emotionally a difficult decision it was a logical, more sustainable and cost effective solution, particularly with the knowledge of the remoteness of the site and the logistical requirements of any long term maintenance. Picton and Blenheim are the closest towns and the only practical way to reach the site is actually by boat, barge or by helicopter. Weather permitting it takes about 45 minutes to reach site via boat. So logistically this was obviously one of the main constraints on this project. The clients brief was relatively simple incorporating : open plan kitchen, dining, living area with fireplace (wood burner), 3 double bedrooms, all with a good orientation and view, separate studio – office area, laundry-changing room after diving with exterior shower, main complete bathroom and a separate toilet. The outdoor space had to be very functional and needed to incorporate the existing spa while this needed to be strategically positioned to capture the view while remaining private, an outdoor shower in the same space was also a requirement. As is a standard requirement in all bach’s the provision of extensive decking with outdoor seating all around the dwelling and the ability for the BBQ to be used in a variety of locations depending on the need.”
