OppositeThebulk
ofthehouseis clad
in dark-greencorrugate
steel,whichworksin
wellwitha backdrop
ofestablishedtrees.Belowleftandright
Vitexdeckingfolds
upthewallatthe back
of the house.Thirty-eightyearsago,TonyandLynneCarlin
movedintoa little1940sweatherboardhouseon
a bigflatsectioninAuckland’sMountRoskill.Ithas
servedastheirfamilyhomeeversince.Theirchildren
grewupthere,movedaway– andthenoverthepast
fewyears,they’veslowlycomehome.
First,TonyandLynneextendedtheirhouse
toaccommodatetheirdaughterAmyandherthree
kids.Notlongafter,Tonyclockedthechangeswrought
bytheAucklandUnitaryPlan,whichhasloosened
therulesaroundinfillhousingonsitesthatwere
previouslyunabletobesubdivided,anddon’talways
requirearesourceconsenttodoso.
Herealisedquitequicklythatthebackyard,thena
largevegetablegarden,wouldmaketheperfectplotfor
daughterKirstinCarlinandherpartnerDanArps,both
contemporaryartists,andtheirboyGus,who’sabout
toturnfour.“Aucklandhousepriceswerea driving
force,”saysLynne.“Wehadafewluckybreakswhen
wewereyoungandwewantedtohelpif wecould.”
Andso,attheendoflastyear,Dan,KirstinandGus
movedintoan86-square-metrehousecladingreen
corrugatesteeldesignedbyHamishStirratofFabricate
Architecture. In all, 10 people, including four Carlin
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