house for a family is situated on a quiet street in the inner Auckland suburb of Herne Bay. Honed concrete blocks, dark stained timber and white pre-cast concrete have been combined in an intensive sculptural composition that has a sense of permanence and craft. The cast concrete facade acts simultaneously as a public sculpture, a gift to the street, and as a protective mask for the private spaces behind. The living spaces are laid out in a linear progression along the length of the site, connecting the front courtyard to the back yard