There are plenty of villa renovations in the inner suburbs of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, but few feel as special as Super Taper by architect Jack McKinney. Perhaps not surprisingly, the house won Best House Aotearoa 2021 at the inaugural Here Awards last year. 

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McKinney’s design restored the villa, then added a sculptural pyramid to the rear. “I wanted the addition to feel like it was carved out of a block of stone,” he says. The extension is clad in porcelain tiles; inside, he combines terracotta-tiled floors with dark cabinetry, softly plastered walls and custom furniture by interior designer Katie Lockhart. In this room, which combines kitchen, living and dining, the sun through the skylight traces the arc of the day across the floor; a low window looks out over the swimming pool. 

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Inside the original villa, on the street side, there are three bedrooms and a bathroom; at the rear, there’s a primary bedroom up in the rafters, with a walk-through wardrobe and ensuite bathroom. Below that, connected to the new living pavilion, a media room and subterranean pantry. 

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There is poetry aplenty in this house, which feels less like an extension than a wholesale reworking into one complete thing. 

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7 Franklin Road, Freemans Bay,  Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Ollie Wall & Graham Wall
Wall Real Estate
wallrealestate.co.nz

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