Wind in its sails

This yacht-like Northcote Point home in Auckland is a place of ever-changing light and shade — the sun falling into its hull in a myriad of lines and patterns that ebb and flow depending on its position in the sky.

The same is true for the wind, with the house either embracing it or sheltering from it. Designed to allow various areas to easily traverse indoors and out, the configuration of spaces is dictated by the elements.

When architect Pat de Pont of Strachan Group Architects first visited the site, he was greeted by the clients, who were sitting with their children under the shade of a mature elm tree at the front of a 1946 art deco–style house that