The House at Orua Bay is for a client with a grown up family that is a holiday and weekend retreat on a spectacular site at Orua Bay. The new house consists of a simple rectangular plan with 6 metre high double height living space for living, kitchen and dining areas with bedrooms overlooking the living spaces so that all bedrooms and living spaces have spectacular views over Manukau Harbour and adds drama to the main living spaces

The house is designed to respect the hillside environment of the site with the house gently nestled into the contour of the site and orientated such that with the full height glazing, and large roof overhangs ensure an even tempered interior with passive solar gain in the winter months, and excellent sun and glare control in the summer. Generous openings allow the living spaces to engage with an outdoor deck and wider site context of the beach environment.

The house is a simple exposed steel frame with weathered cedar external cladding and aluminium windows and doors. It has natural timber floors and monochromatic walls with large internal cedar shutters to modulate the internal environment.

A separate sleepout with ensuite and garage was added to the rear of the house at a later stage for extended family and storage of holiday paraphernalia.