The site for this house is atop a small hill with the view northwards towards Paekākāriki. To the West a large hill which blocks low, hot summer sun and to the East, although a long way off and not visible, Transmission Gulley, a recently built national motorway.

A 900 mm grid sets out the basis for the logic of the house. The client wished to build everything themselves with a well reasoned budget, which provided a rigorous set of parameters in which to design within. Rammed earth walls form primary structural members and assist with thermal massing, and timber columns and plywood box beams provide the secondary members and roof structure. The box beams are designed as to have no off cuts from 6 sheets of plywood per beam, and the additional components are also designed with an attention to material scarcity.