“With poise and grace, Nick Sayes and Luke Jackson turn a humble Tāmaki Makaurau bungalow into something ethereal.”

“Though in essence a fairly traditional extension, there is elegance here – a modesty and restraint that lends a meditative stillness. The main feature of the extension is the continuation of the iconic bungalow gabled roof, which has been beautifully expressed with timber detailing and an impressive skylight that captures light and evolving shadow play. The warm expanse of cedar joinery and oak flooring lends a sophisticated earthy calm, the antitheses of oppressive darkness typical in an old bungalow.”

“The key to this renovation is in Sayes Jackson Architects’ spatial arrangement and order of flow. There are nods towards New Zealand mid-century modernism, such as the work of the Group Architects, as well as Japanese design, especially in the spacial arrangement and connectivity.”

“The new living space is a great parental panopticon – the clients can easily keep an eye on their young children and when entertaining in the evening, they can tuck the kids away in the snug behind the sliding doors. The entire area accommodates different moods and scenarios – you can turn inward to the feature wall and feel cocooned as you read, or watch TV, or you can have more defensible space from the snug (which can also accommodate house guests when enclosed).”

Carefully crafted timber detailing expresses the additions structure.

“Much of the interior-exterior connection has been established by the level of the rear lawn, which is echoed in perimeter seating, pool terrace and fireplace hearth. There’s a contemplative space in the living area around the fireplace, where the hearth wraps the window and extends into the landscape to form the pool terrace. The floor continues seamlessly to the decking and when the sliding windows are pushed back, the interior-exterior boundary dissolves. “It was about getting the height, getting the light and having it open to the exterior””