New Zealand architect Ron Dijkmans of R Dijkmans Architects has designed a beach-front holiday home on the Whangaparoa peninsula north of Auckland that features clear, open, minimalist lines with a large overhanging rolled seam roof providing shelter from the elements.
The main house is divided into two blocks, one glass, for living spaces and the other plaster for the bedrooms. The open glass box was constructed using a steel bracing frame that took care of the lateral loads, creating a floating roof above glass which makes it possible to look completely through the house from the back courtyard out to the sea.
Central to the design was the use of exposed steel with Plygroove ceiling and futurebuild’ s Hyspan LVL rafters. Open steel sections run through the centre of the room and the Hyspan rafters are cantilevered over the steel. “The steel and rafters are left open so that you can see the physical design, which is all a part of the beach look - exposed instead of hidden,” says Rob Bayes, the builder. “The thin layer of steel supports the wider rafters, which in turn support the Plywood ceiling and the purlins on top of that, some more ply again and the roofing material.”
The Hyspan rafters effectively support the roof structure. The Hyspan and the ceiling ply were then sanded and pre-primed for a fresh and striking painted effect, an off-white parchment tone for both interior and exterior. Structurally, Hyspan’s long lengths helped with the cantilevering effect as the beams flow through the rafters and eaves with few joins.
Source: Building Products News.
