Louis Lee

I'm going to take you to the beach. Is this your batch? I said, no, I live here. You know, for us, we were starting a new family, a couple of young boys, So we had to think about how we wanted to bring them up. You know, the kids can go their own way, But I think it's a good start to get them out. and be able to run around, get to know their environment, and we'll get a sense of place as well. I had always been involved or knew about Pūhoi. It's had a little interest for me. It's so close to the city, but can also feel quite remote at the same time. So that was an attraction. And then Pūhoi is a historic township. It's got a sense of community as well. So that's hard to find, it's a nice thing. But I was aware of this particular property. I used to do a little hunting And playing around with the boys and came across this site, But never, never in my wildest dreams thought they'd turn it into a buildable platform. And it was always just a little clearing in the bush. Had a little shed on it, Like a corrugated iron shed, farm shed. And the design kind of paid homage to that little shed as well. Threw a little corrugated iron around. In the end, we decided to go up instead of out. to get a little more room, But there's quite a strong verticality on the site. There are tall trees, surrounded by tall trees, and my cows. So the site has a vertical element that we have expressed and carefully sort of I tried to work in with the angle of the hill. So I pitched the roof to reflect that as well. The thing here is that contrast between the bandsaw and a kind of woodworking set against the flush plaster, White, crisp sort of finish. So that's the contrast that we've tried to achieve. But, you know, again, trying to build economically, It's about getting banged for bucks. So the window joinery, the doors, The bifold stackers are a great way to just maximize the openings I think we should do this in a cost-effective way. I think it's possible to design something That's custom for you and your lifestyle for a reasonable price. And as a firm, that's what we're interested in doing. And it's also about much more than that. The house itself, you know, It's the site and how it connects to the site. And most of all, it's about people, you know, and how people, the moments they have in a place and the experiences they have. So we've been here a couple of years now, and, you know, we're loving it. You know, I asked the kids, Hey, you know, you want to move? Do you want to move back to town? No way. I'm not going to. And I thought that was interesting. Because it can be hard to get kids out sometimes. You know how it is. But there's just something about being in this environment and in this place that they love and we love too.