PIHABACH 

Dani el Marshall 

-~J __,__ 

33135/ 
t.CZJli'.J ., ;Jg i${LX:I 

124 



(Re )generation 

The site runs east/west between North Piha Road and the Tasman Sea. 

The previous bach, a two level, gabled rectangle six by 10.4 metres, was 

destroyed by fire in 1998 . The concrete block lower level survived the 

fire. 

The clients, an elderly couple, were dissatisfied with the volumes 

of the original structure. It experienced severe heat gain and did not pro-

vide exterior shelter from the extremes of the West Coast winds, rain and 

sun. The breathtaking outlook was marginalised by a deck that ran the 

entire seaward side of the house. The budget of the new was the approxi-

mately the same as the insurance payout (replacement policy) for the old 

($125,000). 

The axis of the new upper level was rotated 90 degrees from the 

concrete bock "template." The living areas project seaward (west), the 

services run north/south above the eastern concrete block wall, and the 

bedroom extends east towards the hills that rise steeply from North Piha 

Road. The "leftover" area of the original rectangle becomes a southeast 

facing terrace providing beach access to the upper level. The other deck 

on the northwest was treated as a covered adjunct to the living area. The 

internal stair remained in the original position, though the concrete block 

wall was extended slightly with a radius added. 

The form followed the same principle as the planning, with two 

monopitched roofs falling to a large internal gutter over the kitchen (serv-

ice core) . The structure was intently considered, with most elements de-

signed to the edge ofNZS 3604 (New Zealand's Modular), which achieved 

an economy of building structure whilst enhancing the structural articu-

lation of the design. Materials were selected for economy and longevity. 

The design was strongly influenced by the domestic work of Oscar 

Niemeyer and Le Corbusier, the "language of modernism" being consid-

ered appropriate for the "utopic" functionality of the bach. The term "ver-

nacular" is often championed by those who regard the moderist aesthetic 

as their nemesis, although I suggest that the archetypal New Zealand 

bach springs from a similar set of proletarian desires to that of early do-

mestic modernism-consider Le Corbusier's own "log cabin" as 

Roquebrune Cap Martin, a curious collision of the rational and the nos-

talgic. 

125 



Section 

Ground floor plan 

Section 

126 

... 

~~Eh:::::::1':::::j:::::::::!_t 

1 

1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
11 
1-l 

West elevation 

First floor plan 

.. _qoJ 
1 1; I 
1 1. I 

IJ/&UJ ~~R<.'f'N ~Oe'J"~ 
'fl EJJJ.t . !.1'6Z . 51~ -rV~ffi:R?:Jf. 

kitchen 

be ~.o 'on"; hw bathroo111 

" '"' 

----rl!- 1- -

111 I 

'1·~ di,O AQ""""P& 1i ,e..\.,L)!.J":'°'-
~ '~!J. gt:l:-. ~~'ti 
~,J ~ br><·r'~rr1<'~- ~"NIMW, 
..,, ~ ~--,., .,,. <$flf"'l'l-I~/?. 



North elevation 

.I .I :I 
:I l 
J: 

l .l 
' 

'l ....\_ 

Al· ' 
!'"" _L 
' 1 ' 
' 

FLOOR FRAM ING PLAN 

J_ -
ROOF FRAM IN G 

. . 
·~~-,_:-~ _;... __ 

~ 
::u_ 

ii 
I m :I . . I 

~ .l i 
.l 
: I 

I 

II 
.l 

11,,...;;r .. ,, ... i.,:J.:>O><~ 
f!!.."f'/0~4> . 

<---

.. 
II ] 

Photography: Adam Firth. 

127