Family-friendly city living with an industrial edge

A finalist for 2016 Home of the Year and winner of Best City Home 2016, a new home in a tough semi-industrial neighbourhood brings family living to Auckland’s centre

[jwp-video n=”1″]


Family-friendly city living with an industrial edge

Andrea Bell and Andrew Kissell’s home is a magnificent challenge to the conventional notion that the city is no place for children. Bell and Kissell have created an enviable home for themselves and their kids Oscar, four, and one-year-old Lulu, on an almost-hostile site without resorting to suburban design tropes. Their design shows how we can better use our cities by re-occupying areas once considered undesirable, rather than spreading stand-alone homes further and further from the centre.

Those visiting the home for the first time may raise an eyebrow when they can’t find a car park, when they aren’t greeted with a row of picket fences, or when they can’t see the large backyard. They might think, ‘kids can’t live here’. They will be challenged by the concept of family living in the city, but they will see that not only does it work, but it works really well.

Latest video features

In the Coromandel, a home with a humble profile and a thoughtful design makes the most of a stunning location.

Built with awe-inspiring attention to detail, this Arrowtown home is a fresh interpretation of a familiar Otago rural vernacular.

This sculptural Northland bach is a perfect north arrow on a remote farm high above the sea.

With the sun on its bow and the community at its stern, this is a house in which the elements are always front of mind.

Trending articles

Design News

Flexform’s New Setting at Studio Italia

As Studio Italia unveils an immersive new Flexform setting in its Grafton showroom, we explore a collection where refined proportions, artisanal craftsmanship, and exceptional comfort

Commercial

Design’s Second Life

Time is the judge of great design. Longevity, in both aesthetic appeal and quality, remains one of the surest measures of whether an object has

Homes

Mangakuri Home by Makers of Architecture

Aotearoa’s dynamic landscape is dotted with rural settlements — microcosms of raw natural beauty that the country is known for. Mangakuri in Hawke’s Bay is

Homes

Vineyard House by Clarkson Architects

Long and low on the crest of a vineyard-covered hill, this Hawke’s Bay home by Clarkson Architects unfolds across a series of richly layered spatial