New Zealander architect Chris Tate designs a simple holiday home that captures back-to-basics on Auckland's Waiheke Island, New Zealand. Set in bush and bounded on three sides by roads and a wetland, the site was challenging.  

The tent-like structure of the house responds to those restrictions in a daring and dynamic way. The sharply raking ridgeline and soaring soffit reference the tent experience in an architecturally elegant way. Inside, the complex interplay of angles creates an energised feeling of space that belies the modest floorplan. 

A lack of walls and doors generates a compact but continuous space for living. This is enhanced by the full-height glazing on the north face, which draws in the deck and the wetland bush beyond. Overall, the "Tent House" is an embodiment of the complex rendered simple and the modest rendered sublime.

All image © Simon Devitt 

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