Cliffhanger: Three Kings House

For Jon Bridges and his partner Gemma, a Sunday drive marked the end of a two-year search for a suitable site close to downtown Auckland on which to build their dream home. Internet searches had delivered nothing in their price range that ticked all the boxes; Gemma wanted a view, Jon needed to be close enough to the city to comfortably ride his bicycle to work. Driving through Three Kings, they came across a seemingly unadvertised, steep and rocky site, and decided to go for it.

Geometrical designs on furniture bring a fresh feel to the interior.

Image: Jonny Davis

The resulting house, which is nestled into this small site over three levels, was designed by Gemma’s father, architect Roy Wilson of Warren and Mahoney in Wellington. Roy says the boundary conditions played a large part in how the design was shaped, and a good deal of play was required to form the house into its hilly site.

“In any building project, excavation is always the area with the greatest risk for the unexpected, but we were fortunate to find good solid basalt on the site, so it was quite easy for the contractors to construct the garage and retaining walls the house is based on. From the street, an existing set of concrete stairs was retained and used to access the front door; these can be seen as a nod to the history of the site,” he says.

To make the most of the view, the homeowners wanted the living to be on the top floor, along with the master bedroom. In terms of style, they wanted to move away from the state houses that predominate the area, says Jon.

“We’re big fans of mid-century Californian modernist architecture as well as the 1950s-60s homes designed by Group Architects, so we were after a similar style of home. The clerestory windows and open, angled ceiling in the living area are examples of this,” he says.

The internal staircase, with its vertical steel balustrades and solid oak stairs, is a key feature of the house.

Image: Jonny Davis

Cedar cladding and concrete blockwork take the place of the classic weatherboards of the surrounding homes, while internally, polished concrete gives a slightly industrial, modern look to the floor in the foyer. Inside the front door is a double-height space dubbed ‘the lantern’, which serves to bring light into the two upper levels. Here the internal staircase is an interesting feature, with its vertical steel balustrades and solid oak stairs cantilevered from the wall. This is Jon’s favourite feature of the house.

“We held the philosophy of trying to save money on every little thing, but not on this one big thing,” he says, admitting that the staircase cost close to fifty thousand New Zealand dollars to create.

The house fills the site, with just a small amount of outdoor living space afforded by a large retaining wall. The fenced lawn, which is about the size of two car parks, opens from the living space on the top floor and, due to its elevation, has excellent views across to Mount Albert and the city.