The parents retreat above is accessed via a transparent stair tower that is by day a contemplative space and by night, a lantern. Materials are simple and lightweight. Floors are Black Japanned chipboard;translucent polycarbonate sheeting wraps around the outer wall of the bridge and staircase. Colour sections refer to the landscape, either through contrast like Chinese red accents, or concurrence in Grey, White and natural weathering timber

The only thing that rivals the awe inspiring cliff top view in Punta Misterio, Peru, is the amazing Lefevre Beach House designed by Longhi Architects. Overlooking the waters of the Pacific Ocean, this contemporary home blends raw nature and modern innovation, landscape and architecture. Built into a rocky cliff, this cool house boasts sand-garden roofs that bring a bit of the desert landscape into the design.

Following the slope of the land, the house is placed with optimum orientation to the North, and step down in the series of half levels. Thin and Linea, it uses the site topography to organise space into two distint living and sleeping pavilions,lightly connected by a transparent breezeway and stairwell. A skillion roof tilts up towards the highest point at the east, then twists to the Northease to maximize light abd breezes.Finishes include ab abundance of timber, glass,louvres and polycarbonate.

Strongly connected to the land and surrounding beachside – a prime example of the new beach house vernacular in New Zealand – Herriot + Melhuish have created a holiday home that’s prepared to move, if the sands and tides shift against it.

The house uses traditional materials, in a befitting contemporary manner. Horizontal wethearbords, plywood [...]