Tākapu by Daniel Marshall Architects
Projects
On a ridge above Ocean Beach in Hawke's Bay's Haupouri Farm Park, this home began with a journey its architect knew by heart: the drive from Havelock North through the Tukituki Valley, Te Mata Peak looming above, winding through bone-dry hills before the final drop to the coast. For clients planning their retirement from Auckland, the brief was an architecture that responded to this landscape — two bedrooms, a music room, a study, and a single living area.
Designed by Daniel Marshall Architects, the response was a lineal plan set just below the ridgeline, shaped by the sweeping view and the dominant south-westerly winds. An informal arrival terrace sits between the public and private zones of the home, welcoming visitors while offering a sheltered spot to dine in the evening light. A second deck projects out toward the view, at once separating and connecting the two halves of the house.
It's the living area that gives the home its name. Following the natural contour of the hill, it cantilevers dramatically over the ground below — a gannet with wings outstretched, catching the lift at the cliff's edge. Tākapu honours the colony that nests at nearby Cape Kidnappers. The material palette is just as rooted in place: a pebble of sandstone and quartz picked up on Ocean Beach inspired the tint of the board-formed precast concrete, paired with western red cedar finished in a similar oil.
We were proud to supply lighting for this exceptional project; a home that shows what's possible when great design meets quality materials.
We sat down with ECC Project Lead, Talia Indyk to discuss the thinking behind Tākapu — exploring the brief, key design decisions, and how lighting brings the home to life.
What was the original brief from the client?
This is a home the clients plan to retire to, and that shaped everything. Rather than a busy family hub, it was always intended as a retreat—somewhere warm, relaxed, and unhurried. That sensibility guided the lighting throughout: nothing loud, nothing that asks for attention. Just a quiet, considered backdrop to the everyday.
What was the inspiration?
The home's architecture draws its line from a gannet's outstretched wings, and the lighting was designed to move with that same sweep rather than sit on top of it. Feature lighting was kept to an absolute minimum—in most rooms, there's none at all—so the ceiling planes and sea views stay completely uninterrupted. Track lighting became the answer: run along the architecture's own linear language, it does its job quietly, keeping the eye exactly where it belongs—out towards the coast.
How does lighting support the overall project?
Being on the coast meant every exterior product had to earn its place, holding up to salt air without compromising on design. Indoors, a surface-mounted track system was run across the home's timber ceiling, following the direction the architecture called for. Simple to achieve and flexible enough to light artwork or draw spaces together—proof that restraint can still deliver exactly what a home needs. It's a project that shows what's possible when lighting is treated as part of the architecture, not an add-on to it.
