Top Notch | Jack McKinney Architects | ArchiPro

Located in one of Auckland’s premier suburbs and slap bang in the middle of a heritage zone, this new house not only represents contemporary architecture in a street of varied architectural styles, it also plays with notions of spatiality in the process. “The house is a series of spatial discoveries,” says architect Jack McKinney. “From the street, it appears to be a single-level home of balanced and symmetrical composition. In truth, the house is in fact three stories, one at street level, one below and one tucked into the roof. From the rear garden all levels of the home are apparent; it reveals itself as a staggered series of rooms, all opening onto sheltered outdoor spaces, planned within a compact footprint.” Jack says the success of the project hinged on getting council approval to remove the existing villa, no easy feat given the nature of the area. “It is a recognised heritage zone, which would usually preclude the demolition of an existing property and replacement with something