After years in Auckland, the clients made the move to Mangawhai — and when they built, they built properly. The brief was for a big house that could accommodate family life, a home office, a pool and plenty of guest space, without feeling like a hotel.

The design separates the bedroom wing from the living wing, each with its own character and outlook. A vaulted ceiling anchors the main living space — a single generous volume that draws views in from all sides and avoids any feeling of compression on what is otherwise a flat and open site.

Cedar cladding to the living wing and bagged brick to the bedroom wing give the house two distinct material personalities that work well together: warm timber outdoors, solid masonry for the quieter end of the house.