The Beach Hut was created by Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects to match inside the areas needs that all buildings in the locale need to be removable due to the coastal erosion zone they occupy. The zone is within an idyllic white, sandy beach on the shores of New Zealand’;s Cormandel Peninsula and the beach hut is a vacation retreat that client’;s wanted to be capable to close up against the elements when not in use. The architects achieved these specifications by developing the hut on a pair of two thick wooden sleds for simple movability either up the site or down to the waterline and onto a barge. The hut is designed to be a pair of cubes with massive wooden shutters that accordion up and out of the way when occupied, and close up tight when the property is empty. Behind the wood window treatment options are glazings that can be closed or opened depending on the climate and when they are open, the Beach Hut presents an indoor/outdoor life style, best for a beach side setting.
The vertical siding that has been utilized to wrap the holiday hut has naturally weather into a soft silvery grey patina that blends harmoniously with the sandy landscape and when all the windows and doors are closed up tight, the residence presents an image of a wooden structure at peace with its surroundings.
When the wood shutters are opened they reveal the holiday huts windows and glass doors that can remain shut to keep cool weather out, or can be opened wide to let the sun shine in – but not as well significantly sun as the shutters act as shade canopies when in the up position.
The vacation hut sits on the leading of a grassy slope that leads down to the water and with the slight elevation the hut has a bird’;s eye view of the waters beyond.
The shutters on the side windows do not open accordion style so exactly where necessary they are installed in multiples rather then single units. Just turning the wheel mounted on the side of the house a handful of feet away from the windows opens the shutters. This same winch program operates the massive shutters on the front of the hut.
Two tanks sitting on prime of the second, smaller cube at the back of the hut are used to collect rainwater for the homeowners “off the grid” hut. They are mounted high so that the indoor plumbing can be gravity fed. This smaller cube is clad in “flat sheet” which is an inexpensive developing material used in numerous traditional New Zealand vacation properties.
The best of the larger cube hides a roof top deck that is the ideal location for sunbathing in the course of the day or entertaining beneath the stars in the late evening.
Access to the roof is via a hatch door in the ceiling of the hut. A series of massive dowels mounted ladder style generate the access to and from the roof.
The ladder does not commence in the social zone of the hut but rather from the “Master Bedroom” inside the space.
The Master Bedroom is constructed loft style above the living and kitchen location in the huge cube, but the modest cube also holds sleeping quarters – bunk bed style. Every single of the 3 beds has its own window that appears out landside from the back of the hut, just beneath the water tanks.
The smaller sized cube also includes the gravity fed shower space and this room has its personal exterior access for washing of sand right after a swim in the ocean or a stroll down the beach.
The Bathroom and bunk bed area each lead into the kitchen zone by way of their appropriate doors. The kitchen is straight under the Master bed loft and directly in front is the double volume living region full with a totally free standing wood stove and a lot of shelving for accessories and reading material.
The social location of the Beach Hut is small, but staying indoors is not the cause the home owners go to their vacation hut, it is only in bad climate or just prior to or soon after going to bed that this space becomes a sanctuary, other then that its all about the beach, the ocean and that amazing roof deck.
At only 40sq metres of living space, the Beach Hut has been developed with efficiency in mind. Cabinetry toe spaces and secret cubbyholes within the bunk beds all produce extra storage space. The Beach Hut is also entirely sustainable and employs a worm tank waste technique as well as the potable grey water tanks.
Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects
Photography by Jackie Meiring
