McMillan House, Parnell, Auckland

PROJECT:             McMillan House, Parnell, Auckland

ARCHITECTS:        Crosson Clarke Carnachan, Auckland

CARPET:                Trojan Twist - hardtwist cut pile

"Carpet helps to establish a space's textural quality. For example, in a lounge area carpet can create a softness physically, visually and acoustically, which can complement a timber ceiling or timber wall panelling."

Paul Clarke of Auckland based architecture firm Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects (CCCA) talks about the McMillan house.

What was the brief for this house, Paul?

The house is on a north-facing site, right on the edge of a cliff looking out towards Auckland harbour through some fantastic pohutukawa trees.  Simon Carnachan's brief was about maximising the site, the sun and the views and concentrating on connecting the house with nature.

And that concept was taken right through to the interior fit-out?

While Ken designed the house, Robyn Carnachan designed the interiors. I know that Robyn was always keen to use locally made things, which I think helps connect a house to its place. So, for example, having the Cavalier Bremworth carpet in this house would have been the result of a conscious decision by Robin, in collaboration with the client, to use a New Zealand made product.

As an architect do you feel it's important to specify New Zealand-made products?

The specification of New Zealand-made products is a topical issue, especially given the strong focus on sustainability that's emerged over the past few years. Our practice is a very keen supporter of New Zealand industry and we are more inclined to use New Zealand manufacturers. Of course, because some products are simply not being made in New Zealand it is often quite hard to use locally made products all the way through a project.

Do you find that an increasing number of clients are interested in using locally-made products?

We have a number who are interested, and some who aren't. Our practice is keen to use products that are considered sustainable, but then there is the debate about whether a product is 'sustainable' due to its manufacturing process or whether it is 'sustainable' because of where it is produced. It's a discussion that you can probably have for hours, but our practice tends to lean more towards considering where each product has come from.

So Cavalier Bremworth, using New Zealand wool as its primary product, would appeal to you?

Yes, their product is made from our wool, and that is important to me. Cavalier Bremworth was founded in New Zealand back in 1959, and in 1964 launched the official Woolmark symbol, and they have worked hard to build a brand here, so why wouldn't you support them?

The other thing to consider about Cavalier Bremworth using New Zealand wool is the quality of its primary product. If you think about our tourism industry, everyone who comes to New Zealand buys a sheepskin rug, or some sort of wool product and our wool is renowned throughout the world for its quality.

Other than being from New Zealand, what do you believe are the benefits of a wool carpet?

Well, when kids want to slide down the stairs (and perhaps dad is sometimes with them) you get a worse carpet rash with manmade fibre than you do with the wool…  But, seriously, everybody is different in the way that they use their house - especially when I'm with my family I love sitting on the floor. So, for me, it's nicer that wool carpet is a natural product. Wool carpet has a certain smell. When it is cleaned, or you are close to it and you can smell it, you know that it is something that has some substance.

Wool carpet also conjures up images in my mind of our landscape, especially Central Otago and Canterbury where you have the plains and the sheep sitting out there. When you have a thick-cut pile in your house, you get that track with its movement, which is like a whole lot of tussock. This helps connect the house to its place and its landscape. Some of those manmade fibre carpets wouldn't evoke those feelings.

What is your view on the role of flooring within a space?

At the outset, when you're determining a flooring type for a room, it's important to understand from the client's brief how each space is going to be used. From there, consideration about the individual quality of those spaces will determine if a whole room should be hard flooring, carpet, or perhaps a combination of both.

Other than working with the function of the space, carpet also helps to establish that space's textural quality. For example, in a lounge area carpet can create a softness physically, visually and acoustically, which could complement a timber ceiling or timber wall panelling.

Or, on the other hand, and similar to the case of the McMillan house, the lounge may be a clean space with white walls, and the carpet then is used to enhance that simplicity.

In the McMillan house, carpet has been used in the living spaces, bedrooms and stairs, while the majority of the other spaces are tiled. What is the effect of the combination of these two materials?

Through the transition from hard surfaces to soft surfaces, the ambience of a space shifts, so using a combination of materials helps to define a change in space. I think the use of carpet in this house is quite a subtle enhancement that has been created through the simplicity of the cut pile as well as its neutral colour. Really bold, strong colours are sometimes hard to live with over a long period, so I think natural colours, like our landscape, are a more enduring choice.

When specifying carpet, what are some of the key things that you look for?

In the case of the McMillan's house, because the interior designer was connected to the client, the specification process was more closely managed, but in residential design we don't often get that opportunity to specify soft furnishings. We do like to be invited into the process. Even if we aren't, we will recommend products that we like. In the case of Cavalier Bremworth carpet we have an affinity because it is a New Zealand product made by a New Zealand company. We find that is a big buy-in so we will always put it in front of the client, and we just have to hope that our clients also choose to buy into it.