Karekare Annexe

A 1970’s family bach in Waitakere National Park west of Auckland needed more room to accommodate the extended family on their regular weekend gatherings. The original bach permits little privacy so it was decided to build a new internally separated studio bedroom and bathroom with a separate external entrance as a retreat.

Under the planning rules of the National Park a new detached building would be considered an additional dwelling so the building was obliquely attached to the existing bach. The form of the annexe is designed to not compete with the existing building.

The annexe is covered with NZ native or plantation timbers - scorched bandsawn macrocarpa board & batten cladding, matai strip flooring sustainably sourced from windfall logs, recycled kauri ceiling boards and radiata plywood wall lining painted white.

The translucent polycarbonate exterior wall to the bathroom fills the space with light and and a sense of closeness to the outside environment