Echo house
echo
noun
- a sound or sounds caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface back to the listener. “the walls threw back the echoes of his footsteps”.
verb
- (of an object or event) be reminiscent of or have shared characteristics with. “a blue suit that echoed the colour of her eyes”
A building platform had been cut into this elevated site overlooking the Waikanae coast and Kāpiti Island. The owners wanted a warm comfortable home and were interested in passivhaus. From there we embarked on a project that started with a design for the main house, and a subsequent design for a small house (50m2 maximum footprint) which would sit alongside the passivhaus.
The house is embedded into the hillside, echoing the presence of Kāpiti Island. Facing West is not the ideal orientation for passivhaus, with unwanted solar gain requiring layers of mitigation in the form and the detailing of the building. The magnetism of the view to the sea and the Island were compelling forces in driving the design of the house, and layout of the site, with outdoor living situated to both sides of the house and a house that can become more permeable in its east – west direction, both visually and physically, whilst also offering shelter from sun and wind.
Solar technologies and a bio-tank wastewater system add to the ecology of the house and site, with careful spatial connections and use of joinery providing the more intricate bones upon which the occupation of the house is completed. Although embedded the house nestles lightly into its hillside.
Photography by André Vroon
