Castle Rock Beach House by Herbst Architects

The Castle Rock Beach House is located in Auckland, New Zealand. Designed in 2014 by Herbst Architects.

Yet another in a series of exemplary beach houses by this practice, this project has a directness and simplicity that engages its occupants with both the essential and the existential nature of the beach house. Beautifully considered and expertly crafted, this is a demanding house – showers are not fully weather-sealed, surfaces are intended to suffer the natural consequences of ageing, and materials are blunt and uncompromising: the architects know that meeting some challenges is a wholly beneficial exercise. Yet within this almost rustic language is a captivating level of delight – the warm breezes passing through the spaces, the sand on the floor: all the qualities which distinguish a holiday house from a suburban home create a distinctive sense of place. The house commands its site without either pretence or posturing and invites occupation in all seasons.

— 2015 NZIA Jury Citation