JaneMacDonnell—Westartedup
Inhousebackin 1994 whenI gotpregnant.
Wewantedtohaveourbabywithusand
didn’twanttoputherintodaycareand
goofftodifferentjobs.Sowestartedin
thefrontroomofourhouseinKingsland,
hencethename.Thenwegota bitbigger,
wemovedtoa studioinPonsonby,then
Britomart.Whilewelovedit there,we
yearnedfora moredomesticsettingwhere
lifeandworkcouldcoalesceseamlessly.ArchMacDonnell—Anopportunity
presenteditselftorelocatefromthe
citytotheleafysuburbs– a smalloriginal
60shouseinBirkenheadbackingonto
LeRoysbush.Wethoughtit would be
greattogobacktoourorigins.JM—Wearesucha smallcompany,
a familybusinessina way,sothe
semi-domesticsettingappealedtous.
Weoftenworkintothenight,sohaving
ahome-yflavourtotheplaceis perfect.AM—Thehousewasbuiltin1961.
Theoriginalownercommissionedit and
livedhereuntil2015.It wasessentially
untouched.Herewasanopportunityforus
torestorea buildingfromanarchitectural
erathatwereallylove.Butshewaspretty
rough,soweenlistedourarchitectfriend
JustinMarlertoworkhismagic.JustinMarler—JaneandArchsawthe
potentialinthishumble,slightlytumble-
down,two-storeystructure,tocombine
theirtwinlovesofdesignandtheNew
Zealandlandscapeinanenvironmentthat
reflectsthefamilyfeeloftheirpractice.
Atlessthanhalfthefloorareaoftheir
former studio, discipline was requiredHouse work
A1960shomethatraiseda
familyhasbeenconvertedby
JaneandArchMacDonnell
to house their design studio.D:01 PROJECTLeft—Stepsleadfrom
thestreetandmeander
downtheslopingsiteto
theentrance.Landscape
designtakesinspiration
fromJapanesegardens,
visuallyconnectingwith
theentranceandsliding
screenofthemeeting
roominside.
Belowleft—A birdhouse
byStanBittersfrom
EverydayNeedsatthe
entrance deck.20 HOME NEW ZEALAND