Thornton Hasegawa House: Compact Off-Grid Living
Thornton Hasegawa House sits in Wellington, New Zealand, a compact two-bedroom house by Bonnifait + Associates: Atelierworkshop. The project presses into a steep site yet reads light and open, with off-grid muscle tucked into a 50 square meter (538 square foot) footprint. Built as a modest tower, it threads utility through warm interiors and a careful plan. The result feels agile, resilient, and quietly joyful.
Wind skims the hillside and catches a small tower. Light spills through yellow shutters and washes over honey-toned linings, warming the rooms from morning to late afternoon.
This is a two-bedroom house in Wellington by Bonnifait + Associates: Atelierworkshop, conceived as a compact, off-grid retreat. The throughline lives in the interior palette: kowhai yellows and strand-board grain swing the mood toward warmth and clarity, guiding movement and framing daily routines.
Color Sets Mood
Kowhai yellow arrives as a bright star, sending a concentrated beam across the rooms and up the stair. Against honey-colored strand-board linings, the tone boosts ambient light and steadies the home’s character through dark weather. Finishes stay simple and tactile, letting color carry the atmosphere while the material grain keeps scale human. The palette does quiet work—warm, legible, and memorable.
Shutters Shape Light
Bedrooms connect to a slim, double-height, north-facing volume through internal shutters that tune light and privacy. Pivot them open and the rooms borrow height, air, and a vertical view down the core. Close them, and the bedrooms turn calm without losing the glow that ricochets off yellow planes. This adjustable filter becomes the house’s daily instrument (as satisfying to use as it is to see).
Compact Plan, Generous Feel
A tight footprint of 50 square meters (538 square feet) sets the discipline, yet the layout reads loose and continuous. Pulled forward from the slope to minimize excavation, the tower stacks functions while preserving an open core that threads daylight between levels. Kitchen and bathroom areas borrow volume from the central stair, gaining the elbow room that small homes often lack. Movement is easy and direct, with storage tucked at the edges to keep floors clear.
Built-In Intelligence
Clever storage lands where hands reach first: under treads, beside doorways, and in shallow wall runs that align with the stair. Nothing feels added on; everything looks planned and measured to the millimeter. This careful fit strengthens the interior’s calm and preserves sightlines across the core, so compact rooms trade on openness rather than bulk. A small house gains range and rhythm through these clear moves.
Off-Grid, Low Impact
Solar batteries and water tanks keep the tower independent without visual noise. Systems hide within the envelope, supporting the pared-back rooms and the palette that defines them. The placement on the hillside cuts earthwork, keeping the build light and the footprint precise. Environmental restraint meets daily ease, and the interior tone makes that ethic feel inviting.
Late light turns the shutters gold and softens the stair’s edges. On a bleak day, the yellow still lifts the rooms, warming the grain and holding the house together.
Photography courtesy of Bonnifait + Associates: Atelierworkshop
Visit Bonnifait + Associates: Atelierworkshop
