Palm Beach House is an incredible single family residence designed by architecture studio Vaughn McQuarrie, located in Palm Beach, Auckland, New Zealand. This 1,184 square foot (110 square meters) house is located on a reasonably steep bush covered site a few hundred meters up a valley from the golden sands of Palm Beach Waiheke Island.

Sitting under a large pohutukawa tree the house negotiates the site with a series of suspended internal and external spaces connected by external bridges and stairs. The owners of this home have to step outside in order to circulate from room to room. Due to difficult access and the wish to minimize waste, the design was based around factory sheet sizes which could be carried by hand and directly fixed in place without the need for cutting. Glue laminated timber was used extensively in the framing, once again carried in by hand and pieced together on site.

A draw bridge allows the house to disengage itself from the ground,  giving the occupants a sense of  privacy and the feeling of being on a platform up in the trees.

Photos: Simon Devitt