Contemporary charm

This modern bach not only embraces its beachside surrounds,
it’s designed to seamlessly blend with the beautiful vista.

words Monique Balvert-O’Connor
photos Untitled Studio + Salina Galvan

Mel Riley and his company DC Build may not have had a BOP arm for long, but they certainly secured a fabulous project to sink their teeth into.

Described as a sleek, modern ode to the joy of New Zealand beach life, DC Build and JMAC Architecture completed this contemporary build for Tauranga clients over summer, replacing a much-loved, somewhat dilapidated Pukehina bach. 

DC Build’s Mel Riley says working with JMAC director and architectural designer Jason Macdonald and other professionals on the project was a great way to end the 2023 working year. It was an assignment that perfectly suited the “design meets craftsmanship” focus of the company he co-owns with his brother Justin. The beautifully designed home offered opportunities aplenty to showcase his team’s capabilities on the craftsmanship front.

“One of the things we love the most in a building job is beautiful details,” says Mel, adding that the home’s sarked cedar ceilings are a fine example of this, and enabled the DC Build team to put their craftsmanship to work.

The house sits on a generously sized rectangular site that stretches towards the beach. While it appears to hug the sand dunes, it does sit back significantly enough to allow protection from coastal erosion. In line with resource consent (the house must be removable), it has been built on timber piles, which required some significant design and engineering given the need to bore down three to four metres into soft sand without any collapsing.

It’s a beach house that can also boast estuary views. Hence, the pleasing floorplan incorporates two individual living areas maximising views of both bodies of water. Full-height, floor-to-ceiling windows in key areas ensure the vista can be fully embraced.

“Because of the high windows in the living area and master bedroom, the cedar ceilings continue seamlessly from the indoors to the outdoors where there are covered decks facing the ocean,” Mel explains.

Given the panoramic views, bringing the beauty of the outdoors in was always a design intention at this home. The deck’s roofline assists in doing so – it tilts up to bring in more of the views.

Mel appreciates it’s a home that has absolutely nailed the perfect combination of contemporary charm with the everlasting splendour of beachfront tranquillity.

He feels a natural leaning towards such aesthetically pleasing architectural builds. Shortly after becoming a qualified builder, he pursued a two-year national diploma in Architechtural Technology.

“I understand design,” says Mel. “A builder who can speak the architect's language is a valuable thing. Designers work with a builder who understands architectural plans beyond just following them, so any potential problems can be stopped before they arise. It makes it easier to achieve the high standard.” 

JMAC’s Jason knows well the advantage of having a sympathetic builder on his projects, one who is a key player in seamlessly bringing his architectural visions to life. 

The two say this beachfront build has been a great project to be involved in from start to finish. "The client on this project was really easy to work with, which made the process that much easier and enjoyable," says Mel. The process involved the happy homeowners recently hosting dinner for Mel and Jason’s teams and other consultants involved in the project. Those consultants included Yellowfox interiors and 689 lighting design. Mel says the professionals involved in the build worked together as one team from the get-go. Collaboratively, he says, this was one of those projects that really came together beautifully.

Mel seconds Jason’s thoughts: “To end up making friendships out of what we do is probably the biggest reward. I think that’s a true testament to the success of a build.”

As for the project’s early days, Mel was offered the opportunity to sit around the table with the architectural team and homeowners to discuss the job’s pricing process. This gave DC Build the opportunity to showcase its comprehensive and transparent pricing plan, which includes reports presented at various stages of projects. Those early three-way conversations were invaluable, Mel says, as they also included discussion around product such as the cladding. The clients opted for aluminium Nu Wall cladding (DC Build had worked with this pre-finished product numerous times). Its anti-rust qualities were deemed especially advantageous given the Pukehina home’s coastal location. The home is set to retain its good looks and turn heads for many a year.

Mel says all up, the Pukehina project fulfilled his company’s aim to craft homes that not only bring an architectural vision to the real world, but also make the owner, the architect/architectural designer and the team proud to be part of it. 

Dcbuild.co.nz

DC and the BOP

All it took was a few wonderful beach holidays to get Mel Riley thinking seriously about extending his building business to include the BOP.

“We loved the area, loved the vibe, and I managed to secure a section in Pāpāmoa that would become home base.”

Mel and his brother Justin founded DC Build back in 2014. Up until Mel’s BOP epiphany about five years ago, the brothers’ business concentrated solely on residential builds in Auckland. These days the business has a team of six (made up of qualified builders and apprentices at various stages) in the Western Bay of Plenty, and 12 in Auckland. Mel heads the BOP team, ably assisted by Will Salwey as site foreman, while Justin’s at the helm in Auckland, where his team includes long-standing staff member James Poore as project manager.

It’s five years since Mel and family made the move. His first build in the Bay was of personal significance – the construction of a home for himself and family on that Pāpāmoa site. With that out of the way, it was time to focus on the business of building primarily high-end, architecturally designed homes – either new builds or renovations in the Bay of Plenty. Mel's son, Jay, recently started an apprecticeship within the business.

Working life in Auckland is busy for DC Build. “We have established our name there,” Mel says. “Now it’s time to build on what we’ve already achieved over the last few years in the Bay of Plenty. We have capacity and we’re keen and committed to staying in this region.”

It has been an eventful few months for the DC Build team. The Pukehina project was finished in December and since then, Mel has been busy pricing another coastal build and overseeing the company’s rebranding. Up until recently, DC Build was DC Builders.

“We’re armed with a fresh rebrand as of this year,” Mel enthuses. He’s proud of that brand, which he summarises as bringing architectural visions into the real world through creative knowledge meeting technical skill.  

“The best projects are the ones that everyone is proud of.”

Dcbuild.co.nz

Solid Foundations

A time-honoured building system in Europe is being utilised to craft homes that embody a heritage-worthy essence. 

Words Casey Vassallo
Photos Jahl Marshall

Homes are meant to be sanctuaries of security, comfort and lasting memories, where loved ones gather to create cherished moments to last generations. At least this is the dream Chris and Robyn MacPherson are striving to create for more people with Stellaria, a company dedicated to premium building materials.

Chris, who started out in landscape architecture, established MacPherson Architecture in 2000 and has been designing thoughtful high-end and lifestyle homes for over 25 years. On the other hand, Robyn was studying law when the Great Recession of 2008/09 hit and made the pivotal decision to come into the fold. Together, they form an exceptional team with a passion for alternative building materials. 

Along the way, the couple have designed homes using all systems such as concrete, mudblock and rammed earth – but much of it was arduous according to Robyn. That all changed when they discovered Porotherm clay block from Wienerberger, an Austrian-founded company.

“We both looked at it and by the extruded honeycomb nature of the
block, we could just see immediately how it worked,” Robyn says. “We could see that it had the ability to do everything we try so hard to achieve.” From there, they began nurturing a relationship with Wienerberger to become their New Zealand partner, and in late 2014 Stellaria launched. 

Porotherm clay blocks are a structural walling system that can be used in place of materials like timber frame with insulation. Imported from France, there’s a main Porotherm clay block, a portal block, and a lintel block, each taking on an intricate honeycomb matrix structure. Only the portals and lintels are filled with steel and concrete to form the structural elements, being a confined masonry construction system. The rest are installed as a typical concrete block, bound using a Dryfix adhesive instead of mortar. The exterior of the home can then be clad in any fashion, to meet the New Zealand Building Code. 

“It's such a simple, efficient system. There's very little complexity around
the walls, and the blocks go up really fast,” Robyn says. It’s said to be faster to construct a building from Porotherm, and a site uses less water and produces less waste given it’s a straight-forward and natural product. “This building system actually forms the majority of the buildings in Europe, and it's been around for 150 years in this extruded form,” Robyn claims. 

What stands out about the system is its performance in passive heating
and cooling, high acoustic insulation, ventilation and moisture management. “The clayblocks are breathable with interior lime plaster, which is antiseptic, so as the air moves into the building, it's cleaning the air and we've got 100 percent natural indoor air quality,” says Robyn.

She adds most New Zealand homes will fall to around eight to 12 degrees overnight, whereas a Porotherm home retains the heat in winter and keeps cool in the summer. “It takes 12 hours for the heat and cool to move across that block, and it also moves moisture, so the blocks are breathing,” Robyn explains. “Our clients say living in these homes, it just doesn't go below 18 degrees without any heating.” 

Clay is also the perfect material to create a quiet shelter – a naturally effective acoustic solution. “When you're inside it, it's quite cave-like. It just has a density around it and a peacefulness that is hard to describe until people get into it.”

By using an all-round material like this, you can reduce the need for all the extras we’ve come to rely on to make a home comfortable, like ventilation systems, dehumidifiers, heaters and air conditioning.

The best way to get a sense of everything Porotherm can do is at Stellaria’s first showhome, which opened this year on Swayne Road in Cambridge. There, they’ve used a mix of Stellaria clay brick cladding and breathable plaster with mineral paints by Resene Construction Systems on the exterior. Lime plaster is used to finish the walls inside, which has a venetian-like finish with an artisanal quality to it and is extremely smooth to touch – almost glass-like.

“The showhome is about all the products we import from Weinerberger and is the first in a medium-density development of duplex and detachable high-performance homes – we call it Swayne Village,” Robyn says. “These buildings will still be standing in 400 years time, which we don't see in New Zealand really.” 

That’s what drives Chris and Robyn – the need for design to be backed by materials that will last the distance. “It's about knowing you've got an asset that not only has a better capital value but also is something that can be handed down. It's intergenerational, it's multigenerational. It's not a house, it's a forever home.”

Robyn says that in New Zealand, we should be following in Europe’s footsteps with products like Porotherm to avoid issues such as leaky homes and crying windows, which can lead to serious health issues. Because where you spend your time is as important to your health as what you put into your body. “We talk a lot about eating well, good water, sleeping well, reducing your pharmaceuticals, so [a healthy Porotherm home] is an extension of what people are trying to do with clean living.”

Stellaria is supplying a host of mid- to high-end projects from Mangawhai to Queenstown. But this product is for every home, despite the perception that building with it is going to be more expensive. The fact is, it’s comparable with a 140mm timber-frame build, at roughly $4,500-$5,500 per m2 to build.

“We're delivering something in which people will get much more for their money, and they should. Because it's the biggest emotional and financial investment,” Robyn says. “We not only believe in the integrity of the build, and the honesty in the building materials, we won't design in timber frame anymore.” Weinerberger warrants the design life of the Porotherm block at 150 years but the building will last well beyond that.

The plight to change the game is very much a family affair, too. All four of Chris and Robyn’s sons play a part in the businesses. Jonty heads up marketing for Stellaria, while Thomas lends his IT knowhow wherever it’s needed. Benjamin and Geordie recently finished building Geordie and wife Cassandra’s own Porotherm home in Taupō. Cassandra, of Cassandra Swan Interiors, also covers interior design projects like their showhome.

As with anything new or innovative, it takes time to build momentum and get people on board. Stellaria is in the process of setting up a showroom in the Home Ideas building and design showroom in Auckland, showcasing all eight of their Wienerberger products, including bricks, cladding, roof tiles and paving. 

They are also working on an online resource called BlockBuild to connect people considering creating a home using Porotherm with architects, engineers and builders in their area, across New Zealand. Because Robyn and the team see each Porotherm build as its own promise. “The promise of performance, longevity, durability, and of good health,” she says. “That's why we love it, because we know that it's going to work. It's going to keep its promise.” 

Stellaria.co.nz