Lyall Bay House

Project Type: Private residential
Location: Wellington
Status: Completed

This is one of those rare opportunities that come along. Something quirky, a bold and energetic client, a desire to do something different, and located on one of Wellington’s iconic beach fronts. What started off as an initial conversation with the client to “put some lipstick on a pig” has become one of our favourite projects.

When the clients purchased this distressed building which had sadly fallen into a pretty tired state, it was part one through a conversion from an old surf shop to a cafe. Their objectives and goals were to re-think/re-design what had started life as a theatre and evolved to a retail store, cafe and upstairs 3 bedroom and 2-bedroom flats respectively at each end, into a welcoming contemporary home for a growing, energetic family.

The house exists as two levels, with 310 sq m on the ground floor and the remainder as mixture of enclosed upper level spaces and an open mezzanine space that shares the main grand central volume that is the living space.

When working on this project we were inspired not only by the original building but its location and the energy of the family. Not wanting to disconnect the building from its historic roots in Lyall Bay we created a space that continued to reach out to its surroundings.

The building has been finished to endure in its harsh coastal environment. The exterior is clad with a bronze anodised aluminium weatherboard, along with its iconic blue polycarbonate.