Austrian architect Fritz Eisenhofer was certainly thinking outside the box when he designed and built practically by hand (with help from his son), a now iconic dome-shaped beachfront home, near his own eco-dome home at 80 Paetawa Road, at Peka Peka beach on the Kapiti Coast.
Eisenhofer had emigrated to New Zealand after World War II and was one of a group of European architects who revolutionised design in post-war New Zealand. Now in his 90s, with a kiwi wife Helen, he’s still going strong and in 2010 was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to architecture.
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The beach house, which was completed in 2012 and looks as if it's straight from the set of Star Wars, is built with ferro cement, which keeps it cool in summer, and warm in winter. Huge windows let sunlight flood in
A meandering 470sqm of floor space consists of 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and seemingly endless living spaces with an indoor pool and garden and loads of leafy green sub-tropical plants.
The kitchen is slick and ultra-modern – designed with keen cooks and entertainers in mind, and the dining area and living room are semi-open-plan. The bedrooms all have fantastic views and there’s also a large garage, workshop and games room.
The house, currently being marketed by Colin Kelly at Ray White in Wellington has attracted interest from all around the world and Kelly believes that when the right buyer comes along they’ll simply fall in love with it.
The house looks a lot like the ones featured in Star Wars. Photo / Lucasfilm
“The Eisenhofers have let it out as a holiday home, but I think you’d really want to live in it full-time,” says Kelly.
He says that it has sensational, yet easy-care grounds and great beach access.
Kelly adds that the house is very economical to run, thanks to Fritz Eisenhofer’s passion for solar heating.
80 Paetawa Road, Peka Peka, Kapiti Coast, Wellington
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrroms, 2 carparking
Buyer inquiry over $1,500,000
Contact: Colin Kelly, Ray White, 021 439 727
