K Valley House: A Retreat for Film Makers with A Singular Geometric Form and Recycled Materials

The site of K Valley House is 20 hectares of farmland on the Kauaeranga river that stretches from high on the hillside to the river banks. The clients of this project are a couple, a director and director of photography in the film industry where they involve in filming on the location for stretches of time. This home is a place to which they retreat between filming, designed by Herbst Architects. The singular geometric form and recycled materials can make this house looks more unique.

Design

The site of this project stretches from high on the hillside to the river banks, including the ridgeline that offers a panoramic view of the farmland below and also the native bush on the valley opposite slopes. The brief of the clients called for a response that engaged with the project site both a filmic and practical way.

Materials

The clients live a life of self-sufficiency on the land, including butchery and animal husbandry. They also talk about materials that have a patina of recycling and adaptive re-use, sustainability, age, and of the materials provenance. In order to respond to the client, the architect focuses on the small mass of a building which is determined into a singular geometric form.

Structure

The architect also positions the from that straddling the site ridgeline which is floating above the land and engaged with the slope at the high end. The form in the rainscreen of rusted corrugated iron sheets is clad by drawing the vernacular of rusty corrugated iron sheds prevalent in the district, a sort of rural camouflage. The recycled materials and fittings dominate the house building that clients procured over the build duration.

K Valley House