AboveOriginal
concreteceilingsand
rimufloorboardsinthe
hallway.The‘Yeh’wall
tableis byKenyonYeh
forMenu.Thecustom
‘Outline’mirroris by
Joska& Sons.AboveleftThelibraryis
linedwitharchitecture
books.The‘Frankie’
sofais byCameron
FoggoforNonn.The
‘NoughtsWeave’rug
is fromNodi.A cross-
stitchbyAnnFletcher
and‘AManukaTwig
Castinga Shadowon
a SmallCurvedPlane’
byPippinWright-Stow
hangabovea ‘Panthella’
lampbyVernerPanton
forLouisPoulsen.OppositeThelibrary
canbeseenthrough
thepivotingfrontdoor.
An‘ArnoldCircus’stool
byMartinoGamper at
the entrance.ThehomeofarchitectsKateandDanielSullivan,
a veryconvenient 50 metresfromSumnerbeach,
isthefirstprojectthey’veworkedonforthemselves.
ThecouplefoundedArchitects’Creativeabouteight
yearsagoinChristchurch,wherethey’veestablished
theircareersandworkona rangeofprojects,including
newresidentialandrenovations.Theykeeptheir
practicemodest(threepeople)foritshands-on
benefits.It’sanapproachtheyextendedtotheirhome,
rightdowntodiggingtrenchesforfoundations.It was
alla goodlearningexperienceasarchitects,theysay.
Eagerastheyweretocreatetheirownhome,
theSullivansdidn’tenvisagesuchanextended
undertaking,whichevolvedovertwostagesandtwo
babies.Butthe“slow-architecture”approachhas
enrichedthefinalresult.Speakingoftheopportunity
asa “luxury”andtheresultsasa “joy”,KateandDaniel
arenottrottingoutfripperyandplatitudes.They’ve
carefullyandexquisitelycrafteda hometosuittheir
needs.Thisiswheretheywillraisetheirchildren
- a modesthomewith“thebiggestswimmingpool
inthecity”justbeyondthefrontdoor.
Fromtheget-go,thehousewasaninteresting
proposition. When the Sullivans purchased it seven
yearsago,it hadbeenvacantforsometime.Theroof
leakedandceilingswerecollapsingbut,beyondthe
generaldeterioration,theyimmediatelysawpotential
andwereenchantedwiththehome’scharacterand
quirks.Aquickplanningexerciserevealedtheycould
achievea modestfirst-floorextension,addingaround
20 squaremetrestothe 120 footprint.Thehouse,
whichsitsona 300-square-metresiteandishemmed
inonthreesidesbytwo-storeyhomes,isa bitofa
neighbourhoodpersonality.Localscallit the‘The
Bunker’or‘TheCastle’andcuriouspassersbyoften
askafteritsprovenance.Manythinkit mighthave
beena bank.
“Itwasthepartyhousewhenthepubclosed,”says
Daniel.“AmemberofSalmonellaDubflattedhereand
oneoftheirEPreleasepartieswasheldhere.Alotof
peopletellusthey’vehada historywiththehouse.”
“Peoplerememberthepartiesandhowcoldand
dampthehousewas,”saysKate.Arecentvisitorand
formerresident– a judgeona design-awardspanel- waskeentoseewhathisoldbedroomlookedlike.
Hefoundthingschanged– it’snowpartofthekitchen.
Butthere’smoretothehousethannotoriety.Since
foundations were laid in the 1940s, the house has been
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