An Auckland home designed by a famous architect is being loved for its family living spaces by a new generation.
Words Bridget Ellis-Pegler Photography Caroline Ducobu
When Fergus Lee and Johannah Dods saw that this striking house designed by master architect Vlad Cacala was for sale, they didn’t like their chances much.
“We came to the open home,” laughs Johannah, “and thought there was no hope we’d get it. It was like a party here, there were so many people!”
Cacala moved to New Zealand from Czechoslovakia after World War II, and during the 60s he designed many houses around Auckland influenced by the Bauhaus style. His distinctive style was geometric, clean and unfussy, and often featured a cantilevered upper storey and vertical weatherboards.
This two-level home is set slightly back from the road, on a quiet and pretty Meadowbank street lined with established trees and near schools and a train station.
Fergus and Johannah, then awaiting the birth of their first child, were already renting a Vlad Cacala apartment in Parnell, and were fans of the iconic architect’s work. So it was with great interest, but little real hope of being able to buy it, that they went to see it.
It was love at first sight, says Johannah. They could easily see themselves enjoying many happy years of family life in it.
However, they also knew that Cacala houses were highly sought after, and this was an absolute jewel, because its previous owners had lovingly renovated it in keeping with the original style.
Amazingly, they had so little faith in winning the house at auction that they nearly didn’t even go, and didn’t take a chequebook. Luckily, fate had other ideas.
Johannah explains that she was immediately enchanted by the house’s peaceful setting and spaciousness. “We had made a list of things that we value, and one was natural light – a sense of space. It really strikes you when you come in here, that’s what it is all about – through the whole house.”
They also loved the fact that there was no structural work to do. The previous owners had done a magnificent job
of restoring and renovating the house while paying great respect to Cacala’s design aesthetic.
They had carefully retained important design features, such as top-hinged windows and full-height door-frames. They had modernised the bathroom and kitchen, landscaped the garden, and added a 40 square metre extension.
Once Fergus and Johannah had added their own furniture and decorating touches, they loved it even more. With its open-plan kitchen and living room extending to a large fenced deck, the couple love the child-friendliness of their home’s main living area, and of the house in general. The garden has several different ‘rooms’, including a vegetable patch where the children are learning to tend their plants.
Johannah and Fergus were newbies to Meadowbank, having never lived there before, but they soon fell in love with their new suburb, just as much as they’d fallen in love with their new home. They’ve been thrilled to discover the strong sense of community in their neighbourhood. Johannah explains what a lovely experience it is to live somewhere so welcoming, where neighbours regularly help one another.
“People chat to you and smile and when you take the kids to the playground you always end up meeting someone new. “We all look out for each other – it’s a real neighbourhood.”
In a perfect world, they would like to add on at some stage, as they would like an additional living space. If they did, Johannah explains, they would probably go up another level, and certainly keep the alterations in keeping with the Cacala design.
But for now, they love their house as it is, a friendly home where children are free to grow and play. Vlad Cacala would be well pleased.
To see inside this home pick up a copy of the lastest issue of homestyle. On sale now at supermarkets and book stores nationwide.