PROJECT FEATURE Issue No. 11Quintessential Beachside Escape – Omata Beach House by Herbst Architects Words by Camille Khouri Architecture by Herbst Architects Photography by Simon Wilson Build by Bell Construction Interior Design by Herbst Architects Landscape Design by Jared Lockhart Design Landscape Construction by Fulton Landscaping Engineering by Sullivan Hall Joinery by Guyco Kitchens & Joinery Windows by Vitrocsa Furniture Design by Scott Zegers Design Originally Featured in The Local Project Issue No. 11 Originally Featured in The Local Project Issue No. 11 Issue No. 11 Issue No. 11 features work from Chenchow Little, Wardle, Pandolfini Architects, Edition Office, Herbst Architects, Kennedy Nolan, Architects EAT and more. Order Now

View Gallery Sublimely secluded, accessible only via a dirt road over private land, this Northland site called for a gentle touch to assimilate the building with the natural beauty of the landscape. In response, Herbst Architects has created a house that sits quietly above the dunes, respectfully crafted from stone and timber and designed to facilitate full enjoyment of its special site.Herbst Architects knew the unique remote Northland spot well, having previously worked on the renovation of a holiday home tucked in the bush on the hill behind this one. The site where the house would stand also had an existing building – an old beach house that was in dire need of repair – and the architects were required to work through a rigorous consent process in order to replace it. With this approved, the design began with the practicality of providing protection from 100-year weather events, explains Lance Herbst. “We had a site with a very steep embankment, which was peppered with these large rocks and beautiful ancient pōhutukawa trees. So, we’ve taken the language of that embankment and then set up a plinth wall on a number of levels,” he says. “It is a kind of natural ordering of those rocks, essentially, to start making this stone plinth element, which lifted us to 6.2 metres above sea level.”

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