A home the scenery built

This multi-award winner will surprise with a mellow and restful interior, writes Erin Boyle.

ON PAPER, a home made from concrete, steel and glass may sound like a harsh and sterile environment. But one step inside this Kapiti Coast property reveals a result that it is quite the opposite.

Dave Launder and Isobel Gabites enjoyed their slice of paradise on the Kapiti Coast in a weekender bach for eight years before they finally realised it was crazy to not live fulltime in such a fantastic location.

‘‘There’s no question that the semi-rural setting with mature forest, fantastic birdlife and proximity to the river, creek, the beach and the food basket of Te Horo and Otaki made the decision to live here easy, and the surroundings were a direct inspiration for the house design as well.’’

Dave, an architect, was handed the responsibility of the toughest assignment of all – drawing up the plans for his own home. And it was a job well done with nine wonderful years in their home that has received a number of accolades, including the New Zealand Institute of Architecture’s Supreme Award in 2007.

‘‘The nightly winds draining off the Tararua Ranges behind determined the house would be ‘shielded’ by a corten steel wall and the gorgeous outlook made glass walling on the north aspect a nobrainer.

‘‘Then the outlook over plains, plus the desire to span a natural gully, meant the house took on a linear horizontal bridge-like form. The land is a river terrace dissected by steep ravines, and the house took on that aspect also.’’

The living is easy for Dave and Isobel. The 1.2-hectare property, part of which is native bush, doesn’t require livestock, so they just enjoy time spent gardening and in summer will follow the creek along to the Otaki River.

‘‘Hours are spent simply watching the live theatre of birdlife, with swallows teaching their kids to fly, kereru and hawks jostling for airspace, and the tui and bellbird sparring for the flax nectar right outside the kitchen window.’’

As the house is set up currently, one large room is being used as a studio because Isobel works from home as a landscape ecologist, undertaking restoration and design projects and publishing native plant gardening books. She also spends time as a way-finding specialist, assessing the needs of large organisations such as universities and hospitals.