Solomon Beach House  

Conceived as a timbered ark beached onto the hillside, this holiday house at Otama Beach, Coromandel Peninsula describes a shallow articulated arc in plan which follows the curve of the road it overlooks and is anchored back to the hillside by the concrete structure providing bathroom and utility spaces and encloses a courtyard.

This courtyard is an inner sanctuary and is intended to be paved with stones found by family and friends in the sea. 

Set about by shady overhangs, this wooden house standing 1-2 stories high and one room deep comprises 3 separate pavilions connected by an open air verandah snuggling into existing contours.  Broad when seen head on and slender from the side.

The delicacy of the wooden composition with its verandahs, clerestories and arrangement of floating roofs is reminiscent of tropical traditions and the romance of old verandahed seaside structures.

Shutters add another layer of animation to the building’s exterior.  These external moving panels tell continually changing stories about life in the house.