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Mangawhai builder shares home awardKaipara and Mangawhai have featured highly in the 2014 Home Magazine Home of the Year awards.
The magazine features architecture, design and interiors and this year’s $15,000 prize was awarded to architect Nat Cheshire for his design of two small cabins. Two friends bought the pristine but unwanted spot overlooking part of the Kaipara Harbour, and approached Cheshire where he designed the two, two-storey ‘boxes’ with a footprint of just 28 square metres. Though mates, and despite having consent to build a 1500sqm home, the owners chose to think small and retain their individuality. The property owners, both in their 30’s, are an art lover and a biologist and so had different lifestyles and different requirements for interior finishing with one appearing quite stark compared to the natural finish of the other. Architect Nat Cheshire is the son of an architect and no stranger to winning awards having received gold pins for two projects at Auckland’s Britomart centre. Mangawhai builder Peter Oakden of Oakland Homes was entrusted with the construction job. His company is also a silver award winner in a previous Master Builders House of the Year competition. “I had priced to build a home locally for a family member so I guess that’s where the contact came from, but I like jobs that are a bit outside the square and although these are only twenty-eight square metres each they were fairly time consuming,” says Peter, adding that considerable craftsmanship and attention to detail was required to achieve the desired effect. The judges obviously agreed, acknowledging simple functionality and design, and the positive collaboration between architect, client and builder. Public opinion though is divided with some locals not pleased with the visual effect which has the boxes sitting in open land without even a terrace or paving – which is just how the owners want it. “We just happen to have some of the most beautiful land on Earth. Life here, it's incredibly slow, and that's very precious," says Cheshire. No doubt they will attract a lot of attention but, in time, will very likely be of interest to those looking to maximise the utility that minimal space can provide. |
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