Home Parihoa: A Modern “Sentinel” of The Pacific Ocean

18/06/2012 – The archetype of the castle as an outpost or fortress appears only rarely in the modern world. The New Zealand house by Andrew Patterson explores this type in its double nature of command and defense within a single building: a kind of guardian in a different form.

The Parihoa House, set against wind and sea about 60 meters above the water, has a wraparound form that protects its courtyard from the robust, harsh surrounding coastline.

A simple positional strategy creates formally different spatial experiences. The entrance is held by a gate that also guards the sheep, while the outer walls rotate around a pivot to open completely. The rooms of the house are arranged around a circulation route which, together with the courtyard and the hidden door, creates an apparently closed framework. Deep views cross the courtyard and are directed toward the horizon through openings that frame the sea and sky.