The site was a secret valley that had been subdivided off from a larger farm located about an hour north of Auckland, New Zealand.
The clients wanted to retreat from the city back to the land and memories of their childhood on a dairy farm. This idea of nostalgia suggested a search for the romantic and the rustic rather than intellectual abstraction.
The project is an exploration of a “Modern Farmhouse” typology using traditional New Zealand rural buildings as a formal reference.
The collection of 3 structures is assembled informally around a gravelled motor court with a 3m step down to the level of the lawns and the living areas.