Wabi sabi alive and well on Titirangi’s fringe

To many of us Japan seems like a nation built on orderly perfection but it has also long held a philosophy of ‘wabi sabi’ which is all about embracing the beauty of imperfection.

Titirangi couple Beverley and Julian Cole found their own wabi sabi when they bought Haresnape House in Otitori Bay Road in the 1990s and have developed a deep love of Japanese architecture as a result.

Brick-by-brick, stone-by-stone and rock-by-rock the home was built bit-by-bit by renowned architect, environmentalist and former Waitākere City Councillor, Bill Haresnape. It took him three years from 1955 – 58 and was inspired by Californian architects of the era, including Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wright designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period spanning 70 years. He had a strong belief in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. He often spoke about his admiration for Japanese design with buildings that were structurally honest, beautiful and functional. It was the aesthetic that captured Wright.

Wright was Haresnape’s architectural hero so it follows that the home he built on the ridge of Titirangi featured the Japanese influence of flat designs captured in clean lines, abstract forms and the elegant patterns that so captivated the American.

With an engineering and tool-making background, Julian says he knew nothing about architecture when he first arrived at the Titirangi property. People said it was very similar to Frank Lloyd Wright’s style and that led Bev and Julian down a steep research path, visiting some of Wright’s work in the States and Japan.

Back home, research into their 278sq.m Japanesestyle home and four-hectare property began. They were stunned to discover that Bill Haresnape collected stones from the Bombay and Bethells quarries by hand each week, bringing them by trailer for the family to help him build the walls using a hand mixer. Beams were brought in by car with Bill’s wife, Val, driving the vehicle while he clung onto the roof of the car and held them on. The driveway just couldn’t accommodate a truck.

“When Bill said he’d built it brick-by-brick, he meant it. He really had. When I first walked up the drive, I was just blown away by the scale of the place. Mrs Haresnape said she’d hammered all the nails into the floor,” Julian says. “The home is so amazingly built, it’s still fairly maintenance free. All the aluminium sheet cladding is as good as new. I just do things as needed. The main thing is to keep the kauri leaves swept up!”

In 2009 the home won an Auckland Architecture Award in the Enduring Architecture category with judges calling it a jewel in the Titirangi bush, displaying “sophisticated internationalism.” Architects still visit – and others too – and the couple welcome them.

Beverley says she felt like she’d come home when she first moved in. “I seemed to have a relationship with the property. I loved the ambience, the views, the birds, just everything about it. Every window is a different picture and the Manukau Harbour is so fabulous to look at.

“We always say to each other that Bill built it of the land and everything becomes one with nature. I fell in love with it the moment I first stood on the doorstep.”

Many of the plantings in the garden are original to the house. “Bill never cut anything down. The trees were nearly coming in the windows when he died [in 1991],” Julian says.

“I think we’re caretakers and when we pass this on, we’d like it to go to someone who understands it and preserves it as it is. Bill wasn’t a carpenter but he built an honest construction,” Julian says.

“It’s fantastic to live here and it’s my kind of perfection – wabi sabi. We appreciate the little imperfections, the signs that show wear and tear, the materials that have been recycled. We feel lucky to live here every day.”

Beverley agrees. “We’re conscious of everything we do and like to keep the Japanese style – the indoor-outdoor flow, stepping stones, raked gravel and scoria, the rare king ferns.

“We’re still researching things Japanese and learning something every day,” says Julian, leading to one of the changes he’s made on the property – a proper Japanese bath house he’s built. Bit-by-bit.

– Moira Kennedy

Julian and Beverley Cole: owners of their beloved Haresnape House.

Julian Cole in his self-built Japanese bath house.

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