Taiharuru House.

Designed by Crosson Clarke Architects, this project’s inspiration has been described as the upturned hull of a steel boat as well as the carapace of a desert insect. The building is constructed in segments with no two elements dimensionally the same, no exterior walls plumb and all walls and roof pitches at different planes to each other. Although this appears haphazard, it required a high degree of carpentry skill and technical knowledge to achieve this with accuracy.

The building envelope is double layer torch-on membrane on a cavity and over clad in a mild steel rain screen.

Rather than the standard Corten steel specified the owner wished to have a more durable version suitable for the homes location right at waters edge. This was researched and sourced from the USA by the owner and Lindesay Construction. A low grade stainless steel sheet was chemically treated to speed up the achievement of an aged corten look. This accelerated corrosion ceased when removed from the artificial environment leaving the desired look with the same life expectancy of the original stainless sheet.

The interior is fully clad with ply in matching set-out sequence to the exterior rainscreen sheets.

Architect: Crosson Architects

Engineer: Richardson Stevens

Photography: Simon Devitt

Awards: Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards - National Winner 2016