The Brook House by small.

The double-height gives the lounge an additional sense of space. It features a split-level office, where the mezzanine floor becomes a seat for the study and the desk becomes the guardrail. It is a small space, but it feels much larger, given it shares the height of the lounge. The lower section is encased by steel glass windows and pivot doors. Copper and ply louvers run horizontally along with the glass, hiding fly wire but coaxing the south-westerly breeze to travel up through the building.

Material availability and selection were inspired and informed by the rural setting. Folding into the landscape of rusted red farm sheds and weather-beaten coastal buildings, the Brooke consists of locally sourced or recycled elements that reflect its locale. Thin strips of locally felled cypress make up the exterior cladding. As it greys from the wind and the rain, it will resemble a house of twigs, twisting and slightly bowing against the oxidizing copper, gradually melding into the landscape.

The floor-to-ceiling windows mean the building is flooded with natural light by day, so the interior materials chosen are warm, textured and dark. Local volcanic rock lines the bathroom, concrete and galvanized steel details throughout with recycled hardwood from building demolition. The staircase at the entrance and deck are all completely recycled from nearby concrete cow troughs and mesh from an abandoned pig shed.