Party Out The Front

Andrew Meiring adds to a heritage-listed Devonport villa with a playful assemblage of stone, wood, glass and concrete.

- Jessica-Belle Grace

In faded 1880s photographs of North Head Maungauika, Devonport, a white villa with a playful turret sits high on the hill. The house faces the township below and a farm track runs up its side. The history of the villa is as faded as the photographs, but it’s believed to have been a rental in one of Auckland’s earliest settlements. “It was an enterprising chap who bought the sections,” says the owner. “It would have been a beautiful view before it was built up.”

For the owners and their three teenage children, this historic home is a place to put down roots, having returned to Auckland after years in Hong Kong. With a family connection to Devonport, they settled on the suburb for its character, community and connection to the sea. “We lived on an island in Hong Kong and really liked that feeling of having a water boundary.”

Andrew Meiring of Andrew Meiring Architects was enlisted for an extension forming a kitchen and sitting room area. While it’s rare for historic homes to find room at the front, this home was locked in its position at the back of the section – the only way out was through the front.

From the council’s perspective, one of the most important things to preserve for a category-one listed home is street frontage. However, a 1960s Vernon Brown extension already compromised this. A driveway and carport in front of the extension also detracted from the romance of the historic home. Now, three cuboid structures – a garage, terrace and living room – replace the drive and carport. “Historically, we’ve completely contained the original form, although it now has all this stuff around it,” says Meiring.