Marsden Cove

“American Modern interpretation on the Marsden Cove waterways.”

Marsden Cove 1950s American Modern

Marsden Cove is a modern waterfront community just inside Whangarei Harbour. In 2014, a retiring couple with a budget of $3m asked Houston Architects to design a home for their exclusive canal property. They wanted a mid-century American-inspired home constructed from robust, long-lasting materials.

The site offered stunning water views to both the east and the west, so part of the challenge was to orient the living rooms to maximize the views, while also catching the winter sun.

Our design included a durable pre-cast concrete exterior with a crisp skyline created by ensuring there were no visible flashings. To make the most of the water views and seamlessly connect the interior with the seaside environment, we specified large floor-to-ceiling double-glazed glass doors. They provide a completely unobstructed outlook and glide on special rollers into recessed cavities, allowing the whole wall to effortlessly disappear.

“We were delighted to find the property value had more than doubled and was well in excess of the construction cost. We enjoy the house so much we have no intention of moving.”  Marsden Cove clients.

Marsden Cove

An exciting project 8002m in West Auckland

Marsden Cove 1950s American Modern

Marsden Cove is a modern waterfront community just inside Whangarei Harbour. In 2014, a retiring couple with a budget of $3m asked Houston Architects to design a home for their exclusive canal property. They wanted a mid-century American-inspired home constructed from robust, long-lasting materials.

The site offered stunning water views to both the east and the west, so part of the challenge was to orient the living rooms to maximize the views, while also catching the winter sun.

Our design included a durable pre-cast concrete exterior with a crisp skyline created by ensuring there were no visible flashings. To make the most of the water views and seamlessly connect the interior with the seaside environment, we

Houston Architects are proud & excited to present this new project. An 800m2 mansion for a prominent, successful New Zealander. We have recently received design approval to continue to Resource Consent and Building Consent applications.

We have taken a holistic design approach to include the layout around the house with a pool incorporating a sunken conversation pit ringed by water and surrounding a gas flame in the coffee table. For pool safety we have designed between the pool and the house a sunken ‘moat’ 1.2m x 1.2m deep with a hedge trimmed at the tile level. This will make the pool open to the family room, but safe from children accessing the pool unless supervised. Full height slim lined sliding doors will provide a full width opening. 5 bedrooms with en suites, a media room, gymnasium, sauna and bar entertainment facility. A four car garage with bi-folding upwards glass clad doors to show off the amazing collection of cars. A porte cohere to shelter arriving around a koia fish pond and the 3m x 1.8m metal clad pivot hung front door.

This will be a self sufficient solar powered, mansion with water collection and disposal on site all catered for.
For the cladding materials we have chosen rustic freedom Hinuera stone and trimmed the main features with bronze coloured Alucobond.
This is going to be a special house and can’t wait for construction to get underway.

specified large floor-to-ceiling double-glazed glass doors. They provide a completely unobstructed outlook and glide on special rollers into recessed cavities, allowing the whole wall to effortlessly disappear.

“We were delighted to find the property value had more than doubled and was well in excess of the construction cost. We enjoy the house so much we have no intention of moving.”  Marsden Cove clients.

Contemporary residential architectural projects are demanding and detailed, but our working methods ensure we consistently exceed expectations. There’s nothing our team enjoys more than collaborating with clients to create a home that is essentially a dream come true. Browse this gallery of residential projects and you’ll see how our designs deliver beauty and liveability.