Welcome to the happy house
Dorrington Atcheson Architects’ two 70m² homes embrace compact living without compromising on design integrity.
The Pocket Houses are built on a modest 290m² section behind a classic brick-and-tile bungalow in Otahuhu.
A glimpse of one of the houses can be seen from the road.
The two homes enjoy privacy while making good use of their 146m² sections, with each house occupying a floorprint of just 36m².
Exterior cladding is low-maintenance, affordable terracotta tiling.
A dormer window is built into the raked exterior wall.
Inside, ground floor walls are clad in plywood.
A built-in daybed doubles as guest accommodation.
Painted doors and Melteca melamine-finished kitchen cabinetry – green in one house, orange in the other – introduce personality to the dwellings.
Melteca melamine-finished kitchen cabinetry – green in one house, orange in the other – introduce personality to the dwellings.
Upstairs, the landing acts as a home office.
The two bedrooms have built-in wardrobes and share a compact bathroom.
Despite their proximity, the two homes enjoy privacy from one another.
The homes demonstrate how under-utilised pockets of land within existing suburbs can contribute much-needed additional dwellings to our housing stock.
Two colourful, compact homes reimagine the double garage footprint, demonstrating how good design can create affordable, attainable and joyful spaces for living. Amanda Harkness takes a closer look at the Dorrington Atcheson Architects design.
Colour can be a powerful mood enhancer; it can transport you to faraway places or evoke positive emotions on a grey day. There’s something overwhelmingly upbeat about the two 70m2 ‘pocket’ houses that have recently sprung up in Auckland’s Otahuhu. Clad in frilly, vibrant-orange roofing tiles, their jaunty, asymmetric elevations also bring a smile. It’s not surprising they caught the jury’s attention in the recent Auckland Architecture Awards, for which they received a Housing Multi-Unit award at the end of last month.
Architect Tim Dorrington of Dorrington Atcheson Architects (DAA) says the thinking behind the design was to address a fundamental challenge in our architectural landscape: how to create quality design that’s accessible to more Kiwis. “The Pocket Houses were born from a desire to balance considered architectural design with reasonable cost,” he says of the compact two-bedroom homes, “and to represent a fresh approach to democratising architectural design.”
At 36m2, the footprint of each of the homes is approximately that of a double garage, yet there is no feeling of being cramped once inside. The ground floor is made up of an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space, with large black aluminium sliders opening on two sides. A built-in daybed doubles as guest accommodation and the laundry has been discreetly tucked into a cupboard. Warm, robust plywood wraps the downstairs interior, which features durable polished-concrete floors (aiding with thermal mass), cheerfully painted doors, and Melteca melamine-finished kitchen cabinetry – green in one house, orange in the other – introducing another layer of personality.
Upstairs, the landing acts as a home office and the two bedrooms (with built-in wardrobes) share a compact bathroom. Underfoot is 100 per cent New Zealand wool carpet in the bedrooms and practical tiled surfaces in the bathroom.
“The material palette achieves several aims simultaneously,” says Dorrington. “It’s cost-effective without feeling cheap, durable without feeling institutional, and distinctive without requiring bespoke manufacturing. The result is homes that wear their creativity proudly while maintaining realistic build costs — proving that architectural character needn’t be prohibitively expensive.”
Each dwelling makes very efficient use of its 146m2 site, enjoying its own back garden, private courtyard, garden shed and carpark while maintaining privacy from one another.
“These prototypes demonstrate that architects can contribute meaningfully to solving New Zealand’s housing challenges,” says Dorrington. “By embracing compact living without compromising on design integrity, we aim to prove that architectural thinking isn’t solely the domain of high-end projects. Small can indeed be beautiful, functional and accessible.”
The comparison in ground floor footprint to a standard double garage isn’t coincidental. Dorrington points out that it deliberately references how many Kiwis under-utilise their garage spaces, while simultaneously demonstrating how thoughtful design can create complete homes within similar boundaries, as well as showing an alternative opportunity for these existing spaces to be developed.
The Pocket Houses are built on a modest 290m2 section behind a classic brick-and-tile bungalow in a suburban setting. “While neighbourhood properties typically occupy substantial sections in detached arrangements, our approach demonstrates how thoughtful density can work effectively, even on seemingly impractical plots. It’s not about maximum yield but appropriate intervention – delivering density with dignity, proving that small sites need not be overlooked in our search for housing solutions.”
In Pocket Houses, DAA has created liveable, thoughtful and affordable spaces, clearly demonstrating how under-utilised pockets of land within existing suburbs can contribute meaningful dwellings to our housing stock, be they for first-home buyers, downsizers or anyone seeking an appropriately sized home for their life stage. And who wouldn’t be happy to live in one of these joyful spaces.
Architecture, interiors and landscaping design by DAA
Landscaping by Jasper Dorrington, Joe Armstrong and Benji Holmes-Young
Mature nikaus and cabbage trees supplied by Nik Bowler
Bricks for patios and roof tiles for cladding supplied by Monier
