Ōhiwa Harbour House — Arkhē Architecture

Ōhiwa Harbour House is a quiet coastal retreat that reveals or withholds itself at will—its western face shifting between open outlook and screened privacy as the day and the season demand.

Set on a gentle grassed slope above Ōhiwa Harbour, in the eastern Bay of Plenty, the site looks west across the water toward Ōhope, with the possibility of northern views to Moutohora (Whale Island) and Whakaari (White Island) beyond.

The clients—seasoned travellers with a long family connection to Ōhiwa—sought an informal, bach-like home for weekends and remote working now, and for retirement in time. The brief valued restraint over polish: warm, sunny and light-filled, underpinned by passive solar performance and an honest, low-maintenance palette suited to coastal living.

The design response leans the house slightly to the south of the site, opening its living spaces to clean northern sun while keeping the southern edge private and composed. To the west, rather than glazing the elevation fully and surrendering to afternoon sun and exposure, the harbour view is filtered—held behind deep eaves, a covered outdoor room, and a layer of operable timber screens.

It is this western face that gives the house its character. Slid open, the screens dissolve the threshold between living space and harbour, and the covered deck becomes an extension of the interior. Drawn closed, the same elevation reads as a calm, textured timber wall—shaded, private, and recessive against the slope. A single façade, tuned to the season, the hour, and how much of the outlook one wishes to admit.