A Private Space Shared - Fritha Hobbs Masters Thesis

a private space shared

Thesis completed in part fulfilment of requirements for the Master of Architecture (Professional) degree at the University of Auckland, 2013

Fritha Hobbs

critical question

The domestic realm following the birth of a child changes in its intimacy and sensitivity; how can architectural explorations into the thresholds of shared and private space inform a design which nurtures the relationship between parent and child without compromising social engagement?

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abstract

The closure and demolition of The Salvation Army’s Bethany Centre in Grey Lynn last year marks the end of an era in pre- and post-natal support for unmarried mothers in New Zealand. Moreover the closure of the centre provokes the question of how new parents and their children might be housed in a way that supports the circumstances they are in. The Bethany Centre was an enlightened response to what was potentially a negative experience for unmarried mothers, and is an inspiration for this thesis project.

This thesis speculates the societal undercurrents of the increasing desire for privacy in the Western world and investigates the implications of a shift in the way we seek privacy for ourselves and our families. I am proposing the concept of a shared home for new parents and their children, entitled a private space shared, which challenges and alters the interrelationship of private and shared space.

My research concludes that two major concurrent movements informing the evolution of the Western home, spanning over a century, have acted against one another. These are the movement towards greater privacy of the home, and the feminist desire to liberate women from the domestic realm. This thesis seeks not to negate these dynamics of human behaviour but to adapt to them.

The tones of isolation inherent in the circumstance of unwed motherhood many years ago are today less felt, however developments in our behaviours, desires and the home environments we create for ourselves have not altogether eradicated this prospect.

Whilst architecture cannot dictate the behaviour of those inhabiting the space it can influence it through building a framework for occupation and appropriation.

The synchronicity in a private space shared of permanent and temporary space, private and shared space, socially inclusive and socially exclusive space sets up thresholds wherein a broad spectrum of spatial appropriation can occur.

The proposed shared home for new parents and their children provides a haven in which to nourish the intimate parent–child relationship, without compromising social engagement.

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fig. 0.01

I would like to thank Harriet Pilkington, Sean Flanagan, Alison Peirse, John Hawkins, Reuben Cairns-Morrison, Sarah Peirse and Emmet Hobbs for the valuable feedback and support they have provided. I would also like to thank those people who gave their time to share their experiences, show me their homes, answer questions and have discussions with me that have helped shape the direction of the thesis.

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contents abstract

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acknowledgements

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list of figures

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introduction

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the Bethany Centre

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proposal for a private space shared

privacy and the home

privacy of the home

privacy within the home

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63 67 77

women's liberation from the domestic realm?

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co-habitation

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spatial appropriation

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conclusion

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reference list

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bibliography

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appendices

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figure

list of figures reference

page

0.01

http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/our-community/bcm/archives-heritage/photo-week/ bethany-centre

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1.01

Blake, M. (1993, June 19). Mothers' haven. New Zealand Herald, s.2 p.2.

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www.google.com

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Auckland city council property file: 35 dryden street, grey lynn

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https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jordan-Jordan-Demolition-Contractors-Ltd

1.05 - 1.10

Lyndley McEnteer, former nurse at Bethany Centre, private collection

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Auckland city council property file: 35 dryden street, grey lynn

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1997-03-26 NZ Herald

1.14 - 1.16

Kunzel, R. (1993) Fallen women, problem girls. New Haven: Yale University Press.

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images by Fritha Hobbs

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1990-06-22 Auckland Star

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Kunzel, R. (1993) Fallen women, problem girls. New Haven: Yale University Press.

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1.24 - 1.57

images/photos by Fritha Hobbs

2.01

Perrot, M and R. H Guerrand. (1990). Scenes and places. In Aries P. and G. Duby

(Eds.), A history of private life. (Vol. IV) (pp 1-6) Massachusetts: Harvard

University Press

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2.02

Colomina, B. (1994). Privacy and publicity: modern architecture as mass media.

Cambridge: MIT Press.

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2.03 - 2.07

Perrot, M and R. H Guerrand. (1990). Scenes and places. In Aries P. and G. Duby

(Eds.), A history of private life. (Vol. IV) (pp 1-6) Massachusetts: Harvard

University Press

66-70

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image by Fritha Hobbs

72-73

2.09 - 2.13

www.realestate.co.nz

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Perrot, M and R. H Guerrand. (1990). Scenes and places. In Aries P. and G. Duby

(Eds.), A history of private life. (Vol. IV) (pp 1-6) Massachusetts: Harvard

University Press

2.16

www.realestate.co.nz

2.17 - 2.22

images/photos by Fritha Hobbs

3.01

Hayden, D. (1981). The grand domestic revolution. Cambridge: MIT Press.

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Colomina, B. (1994). Privacy and publicity: modern architecture as mass media.

Cambridge: MIT Press.

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3.03 - 3.05

Hayden, D. (1981). The grand domestic revolution. Cambridge: MIT Press.

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www.theguardian.com

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figure

reference

page

4.01 - 4.02

Franck, K A. and S. Ahrentzen (ed). (1989). New households, new housing. New

York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

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www.bloomingrock.com

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www.earthsong.org.nz

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www.awaaroaecovillage.com

4.06

www.alaboroflove.webs.com

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image by Fritha Hobbs

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4.08

Michael Morrissey, private collection

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www.google.com

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images/photos by Fritha Hobbs

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Oliver Strewe, private collection

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photo by Fritha Hobbs

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www.perceptualnotion.blogspot.co.nz

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4.32

Franck, K A. and S. Ahrentzen (ed). (1989). New households, new housing. New

York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

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www.foter.com

4.34

www.perceptuatnotion.blogspot.co.nz

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Franck, K A. and S. Ahrentzen (ed). (1989). New households, new housing. New

York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

4.36

www.jasperbouverie.com

4.37 - 4.38

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. (2005). The deputy prime minister's award

for sustainable communities. England: British Urban Regeneration Association.

4.39

www.theguardian.com

4.40

www.flickr.com

4.41

www.gloscape.com

4.42 - 4.47

Puente, M and A. Puyuelo (Eds), (2002). Lacaton & Vassal. Barcelona: Editorial

Gustavo Gili.

4.48 - 4.52

image by Fritha Hobbs

5.01

Fokdal, J. (2008). Power and Space: Appropriation of Space in Social Housing in

Copenhagen. Berlin: Lit Verlag.

5.02

image by Fritha Hobbs

5.03

www.lacatonvassal.com

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figure

reference

page

5.04

Ewing, S. (2006). Hearth and cloth: dwelling practice and production in Eastern

Tibet. In A. Peckham and J. Madge (Eds.), Narrating architecture: a retro

spective anthology (pp.419-438). Oxon: Routledge.

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photos by Fritha Hobbs

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www.google.com

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photos by Fritha Hobbs

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www.lacatonvassal.com

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introduction

The purpose of this thesis is to design, based on research, a temporary home for new parents following childbirth which provides privacy and the opportunity to establish a nurturing relationship with the child, without compromising social interaction and engagement.

This introduction has seven sections comprising the intent of the research, its context,, the theoretical frameworks investigated, the scope and limitations of the thesis, the required definitions, the justification of the research and concludes with a preview of the thesis’ structure.

The initial intent of the research was to look at the history of the Bethany Centre in the context of privacy, an evolving aspect of home life with a rich history of its own, and build on this to influence the design of a place of similarly non-permanent inhabitation for new parents following childbirth. Subsequently past models of co-habitation and of temporary accommodation became relevant. The initial research intent has broadened to investigate through design a model for balancing a sense of privacy for a new family with the social and economic benefits of shared living.

The demolition of the Bethany Centre provoked a personal curiosity for the fate of an institution with such a sensitive and rich history. The centre, whose centurylong establishment provided short-term accommodation for unmarried pregnant women lacking support and accommodation, formed the initial backbone to the research. Underpinning this is the context of the history of the Western attitude towards private space. Insight into this provides evidence that privacy, initially a bourgeois concept, took common appeal and evolved to become something the Western family values highly (Prost, 1991; Madanipour, 2003; Shorter, 1975). The feminist movement has also played a part in the evolution of privacy and the family home, influencing the liberation of women from the domestic sphere.

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The residents of the Bethany Centre experienced altered conditions of privacy (White, 2013; Sunkel, 2013), and they were also in a state of transience. Along with the theme of privacy and private space, notions of transience and spatial appropriation are explored, and the challenge of providing temporary-to-mid-term accommodation with a sufficient sense of ‘home’ presents itself, something that begins to be defined by privacy. These forums of research are combined to consider how a design might attempt to challenge today’s attitudes to private space.

The scope of the thesis adheres to issues of privacy in the context of the home and its history, supported by explorations of the interrelationships of privacy, transience, permanence, spatial appropriation and settlement. It is important to note however that while conditions of ownership are briefly discussed in parts of the thesis (it would be difficult to deny its influence on the issues I am presenting), it is not something on which I have focused in the design aim. Not only is this traditionally outside the role of the architect, but also the design I’m proposing aims to be flexible within a range of systems of ownership and management.

The name of the housing project I have designed is a private space shared.

In chapter two I discuss two realms of privacy of interest to this thesis. Privacy of the home, in the context of this thesis, is defined as the privacy between the home (its inhabitants and boundaries) and the community. Privacy within the home is defined as the privacy of each individual and the semi-private space they share with other members of their interpersonal household.

Throughout the thesis, the terms ‘home’ and ‘house’ are used. In this thesis, the home is of greater relevance in terms of the design output. However for the purpose of research for this thesis, it has become apparent that often house indicates home, and for this reason research on the home has not excluded that of the house.

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It is pertinent to note that when I discuss the notion of the temporary, I refer broadly to the non-permanent. Temporary in the context of this thesis traverses from the time-specific, such as the temporary nomadic dwellings discussed in chapter four which are temporary in terms of their physical time spent as a structure in one place, to the concept of a temporary home —temporary in a sense that there may be a more suitable home in the future yet specificity of time is irrelevant.

In chapter four, I make reference to Ali Madanipour’s theory of the necessary balance between social inclusion and social exclusion. Social inclusion is defined as the ability to socially participate and social exclusion is defined as the option or ability to withdraw from participation.

Following my initial inquiry into the situation surrounding the Bethany Centre’s demolition it became apparent that Auckland had closed a chapter on a significant piece of architectural and social history. Whilst I don’t propose the Bethany Centre may be — or needs to be — reconstructed, I am using the opportunity of this thesis to explore how the workings of such a specific institution might influence and be felt in a similar yet contemporary context of living arrangement.

The first chapter will introduce the Bethany Centre and place it in the context of other maternity centres which existed in the Western world about the same time.

It will discuss these centres in the social context of unmarried motherhood from the late-19th century to today and will conclude with an overview of the proposal for my design. The second chapter will discuss privacy and its history in the context of the home. The third chapter will discuss precedents and the history of co-habitation with relevance to a theory of social inclusion and exclusion by Ali Madanipour. Following this the fourth chapter will talk about the notions of spatial appropriation and settlement, discussing the tendencies of transient and permanent dwellers, linking this with the issues in appropriating space and creating privacy in a setting of non-permanent inhabitation. The final chapter will detail the design proposed as a solution for temporarily housing new parents following the birth of a child.

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fig 1.01 Bethany’s former matrons in front of the main house

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1 the Bethany Centre

This chapter provides the context for the instigation of the research — the Bethany Centre. It is introduced with a brief history of the former establishment’s function and characteristics, distilled from gathered archives and personal interviews, followed by a discussion of the Bethany Centre in the context of unmarried motherhood in the 19th century. The shared experiences of the women are contrasted with the notion of isolation that reveals itself.

The Bethany Centre, originally named the Magdalina Home, was opened by the Salvation Army in 1897 on Hepburn and Vermont Streets in Ponsonby, but in 1913 moved to 35 Dryden Street in Grey Lynn. Here a large, timber, Victorian-era building was built (Sarney,1997; Dodds, 1992) and it remained in that building until its closure and demolition in November 2012. Buildings were added over time to the site to cater to growing needs, such as the nursing block and the classroom (see appendices 9 and 10).

Opened as a “receiving home” (Sarney, 1997) for pregnant women, the centre catered primarily to those who were unmarried. Its establishment was at a time that out-of-wedlock pregnancy was stigmatized (Sarney, 1997; Dodds, 1992; Kunzel, 1993) and the home was seen as a haven of privacy for women wishing to carry through with their pregnancy away from the scrutiny of the public eye.

Operating a birthing hospital within the centre until 1976, the Bethany Centre also welcomed married women and, along with accommodation, provided educational and life-skills classes, counseling, adoption services, healthcare and help in finding accommodation after the Bethany Centre (Sarney, 1997; Sunkel, 2013).

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classroom main house nursing block (pre 1976)/ pre-natal unit (post 1976) laundry block

fig 1.02

fig 1.03

this page: (fig 1.02) the former Bethany Centre looking east; (fig 1.03) front (west) elevation of the original proposed Bethany Centre opposite: (fig 1.04) demolition of the main house, 2012 (fig 1.05-1.10) photos from the bulding taken circa 2007 10

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fig 1.11 ground floor plan of original proposed (and built) Bethany Centre building

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fig 1.12 first floor plan

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fig 1.13 1997 article in NZ Herald

fig 1.14 benevolent sisters search for "fallen women" on the streets

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Interviews and articles about the Bethany Centre (White, 2013; Sunkel, 2013; Sarney, 1997) indicate that it was indeed a haven for many women, who were able to make friends and establish a sense of kinship based on their common situation.

Simply the support of living with a number of pregnant women in similar situations of bodily experiences proved invaluable for past residents like Justine White, who described a scene in the shared lounge wherein one woman was experiencing particular back pain and another was able to help by demonstrating how she would “crouch on all fours and rock back and forth to relieve the pain” (White, 2013).

Such was a common scenario and the shared support continued through and beyond the pregnancy for women learning to look after their newborns. White, who took residence to have her child there in 1990, considered it a privilege to have had such support when she reflects on her prospects had the Bethany Centre not existed: “It felt like home, like home should be. There was no negative part of it, no recriminations that you get from your family” (White, 2013).

For many women, the shelter and privacy that was offered appealed as a means of retreating from society’s judgment (Kunzel, 1993): “when they go out in the public, they hear the whispers and feel the stares” (Dodds, 1992). Until the 1970s when the hospital within the Bethany Centre was shut down, married women were accepted for birthing procedures. It is interesting to note that when married women were still being accepted for birthing, the married and unmarried women were kept separate by a corridor (see figure 1.12) (Sunkel, 2013) — segregation was experienced even within the privacy and shelter of the Bethany Centre.

Alongside those who had sought out and were grateful for the shelter and privacy that the Bethany Centre offered, there were women who did not want to be there at all. Rules governed visiting hours, curfew, meal times etc and unsurprisingly, women rebelled against the rules and some ran away. However for these women often their options were between the Bethany Centre and a lock-up facility (Sunkel, 2013; White, 2013). Although not referring directly to the Bethany Centre, this line became blurred as it was expressed that some women felt they were already in a lock-up facility: “Though to all this is a home, to some it is a prison as well, because we are not here of our own choice” (Edlin quoted in Kunzel, 1993, p. 91).

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fig 1.14 Door of Hope, Jersey City, New Jersey, founded in 1885 and ceded to the Salvation Army in 1905

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While recounts of the Bethany Centre are more positive in their outlook, those of their contemporaries are often not so fond. Regina Kunzel’s book Fallen women, problem girls (1993) is a thorough account of unmarried mothers and the professionalization of social work between 1890 and 1945, and draws upon a huge range of sources regarding maternity homes, mostly in America. In addition to their compromised personal space, the women often experienced intense isolation from society – this being one of the founding aspects of a maternity home. One resident, a superintendent at the Door of Hope in New Jersey recalled, ran away but was brought back and asked why she had left. The superintendent said, “She had no particular reason, except that she was tired of being confined so long to an institution and wanted to get out for a change” (Door of Hope cited in Kunzel, 1993, p. 98). The fact that the superintendent didn’t even see this as a valid reason emphasizes the misconceived idea that isolation was going to be a good thing for these women. In more extreme maternity homes, isolation from society was considered a necessity to help rid a disgraced woman of the indignity of their behaviour. The homes were often run by religious groups who saw the women as having fallen,and needing to be salvaged; so they were temporarily withdrawn from society and encouraged to adopt the pure ways of their benevolent sisters (Kunzel, 1993).

However as previously stated, for many of these women this was the only ‘home’ available to them. Ali Madanipour has defined a home with reference to public scrutiny. For him, the home

provides personal space, a territory, a place for being protected from the natural elements, as well as from the scrutiny of others (Madanipour 2003, p71)

This definition of a home is of particular relevance to the Bethany Centre, which was a temporary ‘home’ for women concerned with public scrutiny.

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fig 1.15 activities within maternity homes

fig 1.16 domestic work in maternity homes

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Issues with the concept of treating a temporary place as a home also arose; for example women had jobs they were enlisted to do, such as cleaning the residence (White, 2013), but since the women were not staying there long they did not care for the maintenance and housekeeping of their ‘home’: “The duties must be done, but because they are done in a temporary home and not your own, they are onerous” (Edlin quoted in Kunzel, 1993, p98).

As indicated by White (2013) there were moments where the presence of women going through similar circumstances was invaluable to others, who called upon their peers’ experiences to help them through their own. The sense of kinship some women felt with one another, “like a secret sisterhood” (Solinger quoted in Kunzel, 1993, p.78) is a memory often recalled. Having been cast from society and made to feel ashamed for their ‘misbehaviour’, meeting other women in a similar predicament and feeling suddenly that they were not alone was something over which the women could bond. Some of the homes, however, recognized the potential for what they perceived as damaging relationships to develop, believing that pooling together a group of women with similar regretful circumstances might have a negative effect. In 1890 a Boston Children’s Aid Society worker exclaimed that there was “nothing worse for people who have been guilty of misconduct than to find that plenty of other people have done the same thing.” (quoted in Kunzel, 1993, p. 81). Some homes went as far as to prohibit discussions of the residents’ histories and particularly the circumstances around which they got pregnant. This provides insight into the oppression and misperception of something potentially wonderful — the ability to turn a negative, isolating experience into a positive, shared one. As a result of the negation of a potentially positive experience, these women in searching for privacy, found isolation.

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occupants’ spatial boundaries

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1. reception 2. kitchen 3. laundry 4. baby bathing 5. lounge 6. bathroom 7. WC 8. shower 9. staff room 10. circulation 11. staff office 12. store 13. linen 14. dining 15. pantry/cool room 16. scullery 17. kitchen 18. ablutions 19. house mother’s bedroom 20. house mother’s ensuite 21. office corridor 22. office 23. manager’s office 24. records room 25. bedroom

My curiosity for the boundaries and experiences these women were exposed to in the Bethany Centre provoked me to research the architectural manifestations of the privacy and permanency of spaces in the home. I made some diagrammatic studies of the main house of the Bethany Centre as it was occupied at the time of demolition, as described to me by interviewees and archival material, in order to put some spatial boundaries to the experiences of the Bethany Centre. Some boundaries were more strict than others however for the purpose of the studies I have defined a group relative to a space based on typical use, in order to try to make analytical observations. For example the house mother's room was generally inaccessible to residents unless exceptional circumstances permitted otherwise, therefore I have diagrammed the space as inacessible to residents.

Figure 1.17 analyses the occupants' spatial boundaries based on whether they were a resident, a member of staff or the public. It becomes clear that the staff occupied the front/street entrance of the building, affirming its function as an institution; the upstairs rooms were reserved for the residents's bedrooms and a shared lounge. The layout, apart from the offices and reception, is very much like a large house and this would have contributed to its sense of homeliness. Staff and residents shared the majority of the house with exception to the bedrooms and offices, which were private areas for the residents and staff respectively. The extensive circulation required to reach the bedrooms add to the privacy and security the women were granted. The house mother received the largest room - at the front of the upper floor, which had an ensuite. It is to be noted that it was among all the other residents' bedrooms, presumably adding to the homely rather than institutional feel.

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fig 1.18 single occupant’s spatial boundaries

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1. reception 2. kitchen 3. laundry 4. baby bathing 5. lounge 6. bathroom 7. WC 8. shower 9. staff room 10. circulation 11. staff office 12. store 13. linen 14. dining 15. pantry/cool room 16. scullery 17. kitchen 18. ablutions 19. house mother’s bedroom 20. house mother’s ensuite 21. office corridor 22. office 23. manager’s office 24. records room 25. bedroom 26. example individual’s bedroom

Figure 1.18 analyses the spatial boundaries of a single example occupant. Their bedroom is therefore indicated as private whereas the other bedrooms are indicated as discretionary entry. As in a large house or home, each occupant’s only private space was their bedroom. The house mother’s room (as previously discussed) was not accessible for the residents apart from exceptional circumstances (Sunkel, 2013). This gives the impression that despite the aim to provide a warm, home environment, rules and restrictions were nevertheless upheld, alikening it to a school hostel or other similar institution. It also indicates the hierarchy that was established to honour the authority and permanence of the staff.

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fig 1.19 spatial use by single or multi occupancy

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1. reception 2. kitchen 3. laundry 4. baby bathing 5. lounge 6. bathroom 7. WC 8. shower 9. staff room 10. circulation 11. staff office 12. store 13. linen 14. dining 15. pantry/cool room 16. scullery 17. kitchen 18. ablutions 19. house mother’s bedroom 20. house mother’s ensuite 21. office corridor 22. office 23. manager’s office 24. records room 25. bedroom

Figure 1.19 analyses the spaces according to whether they were for single occupancy or multi-person occupancy. The single occupancy rooms (such as bedrooms) are pushed to the exterior of the house offering the views to the outside in a solitary manner, although most of the rooms in fact have a view to the oustide apart from circulation rooms. The single occupancy rooms afforded the best views, light and privacy due to their position away from the entry to the house and on the second level. The cluster of bedrooms on the second level ensured different activities were kept in different parts of the house, which would have been an ideal situation with the introduction of newborn babies.

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fig 1.20 permanence of each space 26

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1. reception 2. kitchen 3. laundry 4. baby bathing 5. lounge 6. bathroom 7. WC 8. shower 9. staff room 10. circulation 11. staff office 12. store 13. linen 14. dining 15. pantry/cool room 16. scullery 17. kitchen 18. ablutions 19. house mother’s bedroom 20. house mother’s ensuite 21. office corridor 22. office 23. manager’s office 24. records room 25. bedroom (single) 26. bedroom(dormitory)

Figure 1.20 is an analysis of the permanence of each space’s use, and shows that most of the house‘s spaces were of a fixed use, yet there remained flexibility due to changing numbers of residents and their needs. Most flexible were the lounge spaces and downstairs bedrooms, which were supplementary dorm rooms when demand was high. It could be deduced that the feeling of a home was able to be maintained in the ground level of a house, with less frequent changing of spaces and their uses, while upstairs there would have been frequent changing of occupants and the rooms’ uses.

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fig 1.21 time spent in each space

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1. reception 2. kitchen 3. laundry 4. baby bathing 5. lounge 6. bathroom 7. WC 8. shower 9. staff room 10. circulation 11. staff office 12. store 13. linen 14. dining 15. pantry/cool room 16. scullery 17. kitchen 18. ablutions 19. house mother’s bedroom 20. house mother’s ensuite 21. office corridor 22. office 23. manager’s office 24. records room 25. bedroom

Figure 1.21 analyses the typical time estimated to be spent in each space. Understandably, the rooms of least time spent in them (such as circulation spaces and bathrooms) were at the centre (ie no windows) and back of the house. The rooms in which most time would have been spent (such as bedrooms and offices) were allocated the best positions in the house, owing to the dedication the Salvation Army made to making the Bethany Centre comfortable and homely.

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fig 1.22 article in Auckland Star 1990

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Researching globally other homes existing at the same time, it became apparent that the Bethany Centre was, while based on the religious foundation of the Salvation Army, of a more liberal stance, attempting to offer as much of a homely environment as possible (White, 2013; Kelly, 1990; Dodds ,1992; The Salvation Army ,2012). It was one of the first hospitals in Auckland to encourage the father’s presence at the birth and it led the way in the establishment of an open adoption service (Haven for unwed mothers to close, 1976; The Salvation Army, 2012).

While the attitude towards out-of-wedlock pregnancy has shifted significantly since the Bethany Centre’s opening, there was still judgment felt by residents in the Centre’s last few decades (White, 2013; Sunkel,2013; Kelly, 1990; Sarney, 1997).

Further investigation would be needed to determine whether this was actually to do with the unmarried status of the women, or whether it was more to do with their young age. The numbers of residents declined to the point that the Bethany Centre was closed and demolished in November 2012. According to Major Graham Rattray, Operations Manager of Supportive Accommodation at the Salvation Army, the residents who had nowhere else to go at the time of its closure were absorbed by various agencies such as the Teen Parenting Unit and the DHB Mental Health Unit, and those from out of town were encouraged to go back to a local centre.

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fig 1.23 from Salvation Army collection

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The sensitivity between the warm, home-like environment the Bethany Centre strived for and achieved considerably, and the experience of isolation, shame and concealment unmarried mothers were subjected to, reveals itself through the accounts of maternity homes. Although recounts of the Bethany Centre don’t recall such extreme behavior as its contemporaries, the raison d’être of its establishment was to provide shelter and respite from the recriminations of the outside world and in some cases the families of the women. If a woman’s family or community didn’t support her circumstance of pregnancy, her options became limited and the Bethany Centre was one of the few she had, so in a sense it came to represent a place of isolation.

Gaining privacy at the cost of isolation is something this project wishes to abolish. Although the situation for a woman supported by her family in raising a child is not in the same league of isolation, evolution of the modern way of Westernworld living, as I will argue through the course of the thesis, is threatening otherwise. While the threat of isolation in the setting of the unmarried maternity home was due to circumstances of social disgrace, the threat of isolation in the context of today is due to our increased desire for privacy of the home.

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fig 1.24 view from gardens looking towards private units; some occupants may choose to remain private, others may open their living space out into the shared space

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The room is the beginning of architecture.

It is the place of the mind.

Louis Kahn quoted in Twombly , 2003

proposal for a private space shared

Today in New Zealand, the ‘unmarried mother’ might be considered a socially redundant term. Its closest demographic would be the single mother or single parent, a rising demographic which, combined with the decrease in number of children that women are giving birth to (Bascand, 2013), is contributing to the decrease in household size in New Zealand (Statistics New Zealand, 2011). Although supporting the demographic of single parents, this thesis proposes a shared dwelling community which is not restricted to this minority, so as to not marginalize them. This is discussed in further detail in chapter four: co-habitation.

I am not proposing the Bethany Centre should be reconstructed or replicated; rather I am taking account of its history to inform future design. Research has indicated that the few residents remaining at the Bethany Centre when it closed were absorbed by other agencies that dealt primarily with specific minority groups (Rattray, 2013). However, the model of the Bethany Centre pursued social values and outcomes through an architectural context that is still, and perhaps more so, relevant today. Moreover, the Salvation Army has argued, “The current need for similar services is as great as ever” (Major Campbell Roberts quoted in Heritage of caring, 2012). The sharing of dwelling space for new mothers (or parents in general) who might otherwise be living and learning to care for their child in solitude is a social and architectural concept which should not be discarded.

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fig 1.25 interior view of shared space between private and shared units

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With the conclusion that the Western desire for privacy has compromised new families’ abilities to remain socially engaged and retain equal opportunities between parents, I propose a housing system that gives shared living-space equal importance to private living-space. Chapter three, which discusses the history of women’s liberation from the domestic realm, will reiterate the benefits of this concept, such as the possibility of shared childcare, housework and cooking, reducing the burdens on parents or a single parent of performing these tasks alone.

Not only does a system of shared living have the potential to combine efforts in such domestic labour and save in time, money and energy, but also offers the potential for invaluable social benefits of parents and children alike. Charlotte Perkins Gilman brought to light what is essentially the goal for a private space shared: she maintained, “all indifference to the improvement of society could be traced to that hotbed of personalism, the detached, self-contained family household” (Allen, 1988, p. 74). The endeavour for the inhabitants of a private space shared is that the overarching collective awareness is reinstated through living closer to one another and demanding the self-organization of a social unit through sharing and compromise.

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grey unit: shared wash houses

green unit: private room

yellow unit: shared WC and storage room

private and shared units make up one 'cluster'

pink unit: flexible shared room

white unit: shared kitchen

The site, of 3600sqm, is divided into four ‘clusters’ of private shared spaces, woven together buy a winding pedestrian path which connects the two street fronts adjoining the site. Each cluster comprises 4-5 single-story private room units (some are stacked on top of one another, accessed by external staircases), a shared kitchen, a shared flexible room and a shared WC and storage room. The private room units each have their own basic amenities and can be divided into two rooms with sliding partitions. Each cluster is then brought together by a simple, lightfilled, double-height enclosure, weatherproofing the spaces between and creating zones of shared space intertwined through the private and shared units. A pair of shared wash houses cater to the whole site (all four clusters) providing areas for washings clothes, and bathing in private or a shared area.

The winding path is envisaged to function informally as a means of access through from one street to another, providing further option for security through supervision and frequent use. Examples of existing urban fabric like this are shown in figures 1.27 - 1.33 on the following page. The pathways and positioning of the clustered dwellings is in a way that also begins to create pockets of private outdoor use, as is diagrammed in figure 1.34 on page 42.

(opposite): fig 1.26 photo in plan view of physical presentation model 39

fig 1.27 this path is unassuming yet used frequently as a shortcut from an area of shops in grey lynn to a street parallel...

fig 1.29 these houses back onto a park in grey lynn and the nature of their understated back fences allows an interesting yet equally unintrusive glimpse into the lives of others

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fig 1.28 ...it passes by this open cluster of houses in an unintrusive yet passively supervisional way, creating security and a delightful discovery along a potentially mundane walk

fig 1.30

fig 1.31

fig 1.32

fig 1.33 this pathway in a dense suburb in sydney passes through a community of small houses and offers insight into the warm atmospheres behind the walls of the properties

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road

footpath

sandy gravel path

cross-laminated timber flooring

perforated rubber matting

grass

light planting

dense planting

site boundary neighbour site boundary

The landscaping of the site enhances the opportunities provided by the location of the winding path and the clusters of dwellings. Small pockets of grass are designed to be encased within layers of planting to create areas for picnics, games, planting and other activities catering to a spectrum of private and shared use. The nature of the ground material also begins to mimic the thresholds of private and shared space, encouraging the interior and exterior of the clusters to blend with one another.

(opposite): fig 1.34 site plan at 1:250 43

fig 1.35 interior perspective showing ways occupants might inhabit shared space

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fig 1.36 sliding and rolling screens and doors of diffuse translucency offering buffers of privacy

fig 1.37 close-up image from final presentation showing the placement of curtains to provide informal zones of privacy

The proposed design materialises various thresholds of privacy that give us comfort and security, such as the simple elements of walls, doors, windows (both translucent and sheer) and curtains, while merging them to create shared spaces for multiple inhabitants. The shared space acts as a threshold for privacy through its distancing of the private zones.

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fig 1.38 private room unit

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The design is based on a set of modular room units, which can be multiplied to create a larger unit or a series of units. Upholding the need for privacy and withdrawal, each room unit will act as each family’s private dwelling. While the room unit acts as the private retreat for the family, the rest of the ‘house’ – i.e. the shared space – becomes an extension of this dwelling and a space to perform different activities.

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DW

fig 1.39 the flexible room unit

this is a garge roller door. the residents would probably keep it open for most of the time for easy pram access but might pull it shut from time to time

DW this is the service wall

fig 1.40 the storage/WC unit

DW

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this is the service wall with a bench extending its length for anyone to park up and plug in, in the shared space. the kitchen appliances neatly stack up on the other side

DW

DW

fig 1.41 the kitchen unit

The room unit, configured slightly differently, serves as a kitchen room unit for each cluster of dwellings (fig 1.41) and a set of wash houses for the site’s shared use (see fig 1.45 on page 52). A half-size room unit serves as a flexible room (fig 1.39) and a storage/WC space (fig 1.40), both for common use.

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fig 1.42 plan view showing flexible use of unoccupied private room unit - the room becomes shared and open

sometimes suzie pulls this curtain when she wants to breastfeed in the shared space

since room care class

pj cycles to uni every day while olly looks after her 1 year old

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no one is living in this unit, Linda from Birthis holding a lactation for new mothers

fig 1.43 red indicates which walls in the units are service walls

One wall operates as the service wall in each room unit (fig 1.43). In the private room unit, the wall is plumbed and wired to serve a bathroom, alongside which a very basic kitchenette is also included (fig 1.44). The kitchenette allows the occupants to prepare basic meals, encouraging the occupants to use the more substantial shared kitchen room unit to prepare their regular meals in the company of the others. The minimal service provision in the private room unit takes up little space and also allows flexibility in changing rooms between a private room, a shared communal space, a community classroom, a yoga room, a kids play room, etc. (fig 1.42)

kitchenette

bathroom

fig 1.44 indication of service provision in the private room unit

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charlette and waldo are showing olivia how they bathe their newborn in the shallow baby's pool simon's brought his baby out to the wash house while he puts on a load of washing rose is bathing with her newborn in a private cubicle

fig 1.45 the wash houses

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D

Two wash houses, based on the modular room unit, provide a shared amenity for residents to wash and dry their clothes, and to bathe. The bathing area houses a shared pool for bathing babies and two private cubicles for private bathing. This further allows the parents and children to come together to socialise through leisurely and domestic activities.

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fig 1.46 interior view of presentation model looking through shared and kitchen space towards a private room unit

fig 1.48 exteior view of presentation model looking across path winding between clusters 54

fig 1.47 interior view of presentation model looking through shared space

This proposal aims to celebrate rather than negate domestic tasks, such as cooking, cleaning and childcare, by discouraging their function in solitude. A private space shared puts domesticity at the heart of the house, in a place for sharing, socializing and communal activity. This leaves each private room unit to be a dwelling that the occupant can choose to maintain as a private retreat, or can equally open up to share and extend their living space. In Gaston Bachelard’s discussion of the nest he referred to Jules Michelet’s description of a bird’s architecture: “the instrument that prescribes a circular form for the nest is nothing else but the body of the bird.

It is by constantly turning round and round and pressing back the walls on every side, that it succeeds in forming this circle” (quoted in Bachelard, 1964, p. 101), and in the same thought conjured images of the nest and the home — at once stable and precarious, an intimate space carved by and for the form of the body.

In this sense the private room unit is open to the spatial carving by the occupant.

They may open it and encourage the flow of their private and communal lives to integrate, or they may close it and securely pad it around themselves, retaining separation from the social sharing space.

The design fuses the traditional desires of home as a hearth — a central, stable place with the characteristics that epitomize modernity: movement, transport, exchange, and transience. The inhabitants can therefore choose which edge they may favour or which part of the threshold they will occupy. Privacy in a community is as essential as shared space; yet what is most important is the ability for the conditions to coexist.

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fig 1.49 looking through gardens towards clusters of dwellings encased by light, winter-garden structure

(opposite) fig 1.50 sectional drawing showing the manual operation of the ventilating skylights in the shared space and above a private room unit

the skylight and window pulley systems operate the same

kim's mother is visiting and looking after mahli while she feeds her twin

the skylights are positioned above the columns so the chains can be hooked to them and don't get in the way

kim prefers to breastfeed mila in her own room

tim is opening the skylights so it doesn't get too stuffy this afternoon

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18mm suntuf multi roofing with manual opening ventilation skylights

steel purlins on steel I-beams braced with reidbracing as indicated

clear curved corrugated polycarbonate shell

steel universal columns braced with reidbracing form lateral and exterior structure; steel circular hollow section columns based on a grid system support the roof span

modular cross-laminated timber room units with steel railings on upper levels; diffuse polycarbonate and steel sliding doors; diffuse polycarbonate garage roller doors

130mm thick cross-laminated timber panel insulated flooring

comination of piles and footings based on location of columns (piles) and universal columns and CLT walls (footings)

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18mm suntuf multi roofing with aluminium joiners and caps

tension reidbraces fixed to upper flange of steel beams [positions of bracing indicated in exploed axonometric of steel structure] PFC purlins on edge steel I-beam

fig 1.52 typical detail of reid bracing connected to roof framing

suntuf polycarbonate sheets curved across corrugations fixed to horizontal parallel flange channels

closure strip horizontal white powder-coated steel parallel flange channels white powder-coated steel universal column with diagonal reidbracing parallel flange channels fixed to steel column with door railing inside

diffused corrugated polycarbonate panels fixed to hinge-connected steel frames to make 3100mm high sliding curved doors to exterior

fig 1.53 typical detail of panelised sliding corrugated polycarbonate doors

Using simple, functional and minimal materials, each cluster gains the feel of a wintergarden, drenched in daylight and protected from the wind and rain. The private room units then afford a sense of privacy within a protected zone of shared, communal space. Further research into suitable materials is documented in appendix 8 p. 157.

(opposite) fig 1.51 exploded axonometric showing the structural and material composition of a single cluster of dwellings 59

fig 1.54 summer day

fig 1.55 summer night

Through the summer, manually-operable ventilation windows in the roof and walls offer the means to cool the temperatures of the shared space, while the room units will maintain more constant temperatures.

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fig 1.56 winter day

fig 1.57 winter night

In the winter, the shared space will harvest the sunlight to create a warming and protected area, inside which the room units further insulate the occupants.

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fig 2.01

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2 privacy and the home

This brief history is in no way exhaustive and, along with era, factors such as culture and social class caused variances in the development of the private home.

This summary seeks to draw on the significant factors that have led to the evolved private home in Western society today.

To begin with I discuss privacy and its origins in general, followed by drawing on Beatriz Colomina’s connection between Le Corbusier’s definition of the home and Adolf Loos’ residential architecture. This leads me into a discussion of the development of the two distinct realms of privacy this thesis is concerned with: firstly privacy of the home and secondly privacy within the home (refer to definitions p. 6-7). The evolving privacy of the Western home reflects shifts in the social function of the home such as who it accommodates and the values it upholds.

Changes of privacy within the home happened after those of the home and have taken a slightly different trajectory (Shorter, 1975; Madanipour, 2003).

Norbert Elias concluded in his 1939 book The Civilisation Process that privatization has been analogous with civilization, drawing on the changes in the attitude to and self-awareness of the body reflecting the increased desire for privacy (cited in Perrot 1990, p. 2). Changes in the ways we eat, wash and make love have influenced a new way of private life.

Privacy was initially a Bourgeois concept, as the wealthy had the resources to impart such luxuries of boundary-making, and the concept soon took on common appeal (Prost, 1991). Privacy and private space have subsequently been manifested in different cultures in different ways. The origins of the word ‘private’ in Latin indicate a private life might once have conjured a negative image, as Madanipour indicates: privare means ‘bereave’ and ‘deprive’ while privatus means “withdrawn from public life, peculiar to oneself, a man in private life” (2003, p. 39).

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fig 2.02 Le Corbusier, cabanon, Cap Martin, 1952

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In an observation of the concept of complete privacy of the human being Hannah Arendt, in her book, The Human Condition, criticized modernity’s shift toward such a state: To live an entirely private life means above all to be deprived of things essential to a truly human life: to be deprived of an 'objective' relationship with them that comes from being related to and separated from them through an intermediary of a common world of things, to be deprived of the possibility of achieving something more permanent than life itself Hanna Arendt

Though the nature of this research does not pursue the concept of an extremely private life, Arendt’s observation is profound and offers a glimpse into the perils of striving for such an existence.

In her book Privacy and Publicity, Beatriz Colomina draws on Le Corbusier’s definition of the house, noting that it would be a rather common definition if it were not for his reference to observation (p.7):

The house is a shelter, an enclosed space, which affords protection against cold, heat and outside observation Le Corbusier

This definition begins to distinguish private and public through the device that is the house. From the outside looking in, the house’s privacy is publicized. From the inside, looking out, the public world is viewed with reassuring privacy. For Le Corbusier, the window is an organ — an eye for seeing — and so the notion of observation is set up. It seems to me that applying such a voyeuristic tone to elements of the house furthers its perception as a place for intensely private occupation.

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fig 2.03 male cafe frequenters in France

fig 2.04 family photo taken at work place 66

privacy of the home

There has been a shift in the home over the past two centuries wherein the modern Western family has become more private, increasingly distinguishing the family home from the community and non-private spaces outside its boundaries. There are a number of reasons for this such as the separation of work and private life, the changing of family home values, attitudes to children, marriage and love, individuals’ community involvement and city migration.

The separation of work and private life, the majority of which happened in the early- to mid-20th century (Prost, 1991) had various implications. People ceased to work in their homes as dedicated workplaces were established, and the family business waned. Business therefore became more public and the family less so. Previously, when the family business had prevailed, home life was interwoven with the flux of the business. However it soon became a place for just the family. Whereas previously the family home saw the comings and goings of servants, business people, extended family, pastors, acquaintances, friends and various community members, (Shorter, 1975) its levels of infiltration decreased and became more protected.

The home soon became a place for the nourishment of the intimate nuclear family, where ties were strong and privacy ensured security and protection. Visitors to the home subsequently changed in their frequency and diversity of circles, as they were visiting a space of personal occupation, rather than that of trade or service. “The public character of the house was lost and some of its functions were taken up by the club, the café … and the public house” (Madanipour, 2003, p. 82).

Houses historically reflected social values, with privacy not a considered attribute in a typical family home from the Middle Ages right through to the 19th century (Madanipour, 2003; Shorter, 1975; Perrot & Guerrand, 1990). Shorter (1975) and Madanipour (2003) argued that sentiment and intimacy have prevailed over traditional social values and are a significant distinction of the family home from its outside context. “Sentiment in the household means that privacy and intimacy will triumph over the traditional inter-stitching with the lives of others” (Shorter, 1975, p. 26).

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fig 2.05 workers gather around a worker's home

fig 2.06 courtyard of two working-class apartments in Paris with communal outhouses and washbuckets

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Children were once granted “no right to private life” (Prost, 1991, p. 69), and much of their lives were supervised by parental control. Attitudes to children changed and in the 20th century their nurture and protected upbringing became a preoccupation of the nuclear family. Children were historically raised to continue the long line of heritage they were born into, with focus on developing good manners and social skills through mixing with adults at a much earlier age. Now children are commonly raised within the intimacy of the nuclear family — which is decreasing in size — with emphasis on parent–child relationsships and children’s independence (Madanipour, 2003). It is also noted that after the 18th century, connection to the extended family gave way to the intimacy of the immediate family, and such prevalence of extended family households has declined (Madanipour, 1993; Shorter, 1975v).

Marriage throughout this shift from social to sentimental values in Western culture reflected this with couples beginning to marry for love, rather than for familial benefit (Shorter, 1975; Prost, 1991). A growing desire for intimacy and independence meant young couples in the mid-20th century began living together prior to marriage (Prost, 1991; Perrot, 1990).

Another shift among communities that Shorter (1975) described is the withdrawal of family members from community activity and involvement, with people instead preferring involvement with their immediate family: “[people in Western society] spend almost no time in the rituals of community solidarity that once so diluted intimacy.” (p. 231). As “rituals of community solidarity” Shorter described occasions of Sunday card games, picnics, evening dances, parades, pilgrimages, baptisms and general routine gatherings geared towards a religious, sex, age or social class group which “exercised considerable claims on the disposable time of the average young man” (p. 206); “[the girl groups] made claims in time, resources, and money on the lives of young women that a later period would reserve to the nuclear family.” (p.

207).

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fig 2.07 drawings for the single family home following the International Hygiene congresses in 1876 which condemned group living for reasons of health and safety.

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Workers’ housing, for example those in France described in Roger-Henri Guerrand’s account (1990), required some shared spaces and amenities between families but was often cramped, and disease-ridden. The concept of shared inhabitation was reduced to an undignified existence that occupants were ashamed to be a part of. Therefore the idea of a single family dwelling became a heavenly concept that the middle class strived for, wherein they could control hygiene and prevent the spread of disease.

Privacy has also become a central figure of modern life as migration to the cities and population growth mean space is less attainable and therefore boundaries become more important to mitigate the effects of closer, more dense living. In a dense environment privacy becomes precious, yet some precedents I outline in the next chapter show us that, designed thoughtfully, private space can be minimal. As a result, shared space becomes a valuable amenity.

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MORE SHARED ENTRY

agnes is bathing her newborn in the sink

UP

MORE PRIVATE ENTRY

MORE SHARED ENTR

MORE PRIVATE ENTRY floyd is helping his brother tom move in with his girlfriend and new floyd is helping his brother baby tom move in with his girlfriend and new baby

mary stores her boating gear under the stairs

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RY

fig 2.08 plan view of entry to private room units from shared space

Aldo Van Eyck, a Dutch architect who designed the Hubertus House, a home for single parents and their children in Amsterdam in 1973, wrote extensively on the subject of the city. Though his work dealt with the urban scale of the city, in his writings he drew a parallel to the house: “A city is a large house; a house is a small city” (quoted in Ligtelijn and Strauven, 2008, p. 89). This image is relevant to my research into the increasing distinction between the home and the community, for at once it acknowledges the city and the house are different, yet begins to blur the image of the two.

The proposed design of a private space shared acknowledges this move towards a more private existence, and so caters to the individual’s private space on many levels, yet it also draws on the idea of bringing the city (or the community) into the home. This image of the blurring of the city and the house led Van Eyck to discussions of the in-between realm, the threshold between private and non-private space, and he praised a home which nourishes this: “… a home where a man can tarry … where he can encounter himself without anguish and discover himself well prepared to meet another man” (page number). This idea is further expressed in my design of a private space shared through the ability to enter and exit the private dwellings from a more shared side or a more private side, offering the inhabitant the opportunity to choose how they might encounter other inhabitants.

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fig 2.09 early 20th century villa nearly in original condition emphasises the difference between street and backyard appearence; the kitchen is also very small with little connection to other spaces.

fig 2.10 this early 1950s bungalow is moving away from the stark contrast between front and back facades, and has a more generous kitchen than the typical villa, yet it is still pokey and closed-off from other spaces.

fig 2.11 this early 20th century villa follows the trend of a grand street front compared with its understated back facade; the kitchen has been renovated to suit modern demands for free-flowing space between common areas.

fig 2.12 built before 1900, this home has been renovated to celebrate the back garden and its kitchen is openly connected to the surrounding common rooms

fig 2.13 this villa has been renovated with large attention paid to the back of the house, made to match the grandeur of the front. the kitchen and living room are housed in one large room leading out to the back garden.

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In terms of the physical manifestation of this private–non private boundary, Madanipour considered the house referring to its architectural differentiation: For a long time, the houses in their settings were given a different treatment on their front and back elevations. The front elevation was considered a public elevation and therefore received all the attention in details and ornamentation. The back elevation, however, was built with cheaper materials and belonged to a private realm.

(Madanipour, 2003, p. 77)

However this seems to be evolving alongside the implementation of increasingly private lives. Renovations to Western world houses today focus on rejuvenating the pokey kitchens and bathrooms at the back of houses to provide more outlook and connection to the privacy of the back garden. Attention has become inwardly focused — focusing on the private areas of the property; suddenly the back of the house is as important, if not more so, than the front; homes are altered for private enjoyment behind closed doors, rather than for an appearance from the street.

Figures 2.09 - 2.13 illustrate this, showing a range of houses available for sale today with different levels of renovation reflecting this desire for greater privacy. The language used in the text marketing these houses further supports this, " Drive in to the garage - shut out the rest of the world in a sublime, very quiet, beautiful haven." (Ritchie, 2013).

Privacy of the home is a natural evolution as population increases, and we live closer to one another. However these factors of the separation of work and private life, the changing of family-home values, attitudes to children, marriage and love, individuals’ community involvement and city migration, have contributed to this considerably. With homes today reflecting this increased desire for privacy, the value of the architect becomes ever important so as to help make the change a positive one. I believe the focus for the architect should be to increase the value and desire of shared spaces, rather than allowing the desire for privacy to cloud our ability to appreciate shared space.

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fig 2.14 an urban working-class apartment in Europe, 1955

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privacy within the home Domestic interior space has over time been divided up to accommodate greater privacy and functional differentiation of spaces within the home, reflecting the trend of privacy of the home (from the community). Initially privacy within the home was introduced with spatial separation of rooms according to their function and whether they were for receiving guests or not. Soon after, privacy for the individual within the household followed. The wealthy have taken the lead as they had the resources to implement such changes. More recently what we are seeing is a reversal of the functional differentiation of space, as the appeal of the ‘open plan’ becomes widespread. Privacy within the home, however, is still very much a concept adhered to today.

Madanipour wrote of the changing conditions within the family home, beginning with the Middle Ages where “there were no boundaries between professional and private life” (Aries, 1973, quoted in Madanipour, 2003, p. 77).

Working and living were combined in the typical bourgeois townhouse of the fourteenth century, where living quarters consisted of not a series of rooms but a single large chamber, a hall.

This

was a place with only a few pieces of furniture, which could be moved around to make possible cooking, eating, entertaining guests, conducting business, and sleeping.

(Madanipour 2003, p. 78-9)

Interestingly, this image reflects the idea of the ‘open-plan’ approach to residential space that we see more of today.

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fig 2.15 a private salon in a bourgeois apartment for receiving close familly and friends, "the many photographs and postcards displayed were no business of mere acquaintances" (Prost, 1991, p. 1)

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Privacy began to be ensured, in the upper class, through the division of spaces within the home between private and public rooms. This began to accommodate privacy, but only in the sense that there were rooms guests or the public would be received in, and there were rooms that were for the house members only. This concept is reflected in Madanipour’s observation that “the public realm of the outside finds its way inside the house in the form of visitors” (2003, p. 76); houses with their increasingly pronounced distinction as a place for family nourishment employed means of moderating public traffic into parts of the house by allocating public rooms and private rooms. The bedrooms, gentleman’s room and sometimes the morning room were private, whereas the hallway, stairway, living rooms, library, dining room and reception/lobby areas were considered suitable to receive guests and therefore public rooms. British houses, compared with their Parisian, German and Austrian contemporaries, were particularly ordered in terms of function, with each room having a dedicated public or private use (Madanipour, 2003).

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fig 2.16 new houses combine the kitchen, dining and living rooms into one large open plan room which connects well to the outdoors

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Although spaces began to be separated within the homes of the Parisian bourgeoisie according to function, privacy for individuals didn’t become a preoccupation until the 18th century. For example rather than one large ‘chamber’ or ‘hall’, the home had become a series of separated rooms for different activities, yet the rooms were not separated by corridors so that one had to walk through each room to get to the next. The 18th century saw a shift to an individual’s privacy within the house as well as privacy between the house and outside. This model began, naturally, with the upper class as they had the resources to afford the luxury of separated spaces; however in time the trend expanded to the rest of society. Parents separating their bedroom from their children’s reflected the increased desire for intimacy and privacy (Perrot & Guerrand, 1990). Today this extends to account for the value and desire for an ensuite, which has the appeal of exclusive use and the bedroom acting as another buffer of privacy.

The provision of privacy for the individual largely remains today. A 1977 report released by the Department of the Environment in London describes the household situations most prevalent at the time being influenced by the individual family members’ “desire to live their own lives for an increasing part of the time they spend at home” (DoE, 1961, quoted in Madanipour, 2003, p. 92). However in New Zealand, today and in the past few decades, what we are seeing is an increase in renovation to remove the partitions which distinguish communal, or public rooms, in favour of a larger space in which informal activities can take place simultaneously. Generally it consists of the kitchen, dining room, living room and ideally a very well–connected, adjacent outdoor space. Bedrooms, however, remain a private space for the individual within the home — a place for solitude and privacy.

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fig 2.17 the kitchen today is often where family activity takes place

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In the 20th century, following the previously discussed privatization of family life and unprecedented desire for independence for the individual, the acts of domesticity (cooking, cleaning etc) became less private and isolated within the home.

Particular rooms have changed in their prominence and position within the house.

For example, whereas the kitchen in homes of the Victorian era was small, uncelebrated and concealed at the back of the house, the kitchen is today often the heart of family living.

As my research indicates, the Western family home has evolved in favour of more privacy. Sociologists and critics have lamented this change with a sense of loss; “private life, understood as domestic or personal life, was seen to flourish at the expense of public life” (Weintraub & Kumar, 1997, p. 205) yet this is contrasted with the idea that “even if people were formerly more socially conscious and politically active than now, this was out of necessity, not desire” (p. 205). Undoubtedly there are a host of positive outcomes this movement has contributed to, such as the focus on intimate family relations and the creation of home as a haven, something to which people may dream of returning, “For not only do we come back to it, but we dream of coming back to it, the way a bird comes back to its nest, or a lamb to the fold” (Bachelard, 1964, p. 99).

Conclusively, the proposed design of a private space shared seeks not to negate this movement, nor reverse it. Lebbeus Woods stated:

The aim is not to disturb the stability, but to provide strategies for adaptation when transformation occurs. Even more, [to] celebrate change and the energies driving it, as the essence of existence.

Lebbeus Woods (quoted in Adam Art Gallery, 2013)

In light of Woods’ outlook, a private space shared seeks to embrace and celebrate the changes in our human behaviour whilst providing an architectural framework to nourish the benefits of community.

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fig 2.18 iterations of models depicting thresholds and boundaries of privacy

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fig 2.19 thresholds of privacy provoked through placement of solid elements

Early conceptual models explored the idea of thresholds of privacy in a place of dwelling; a private haven. Using simple plaster and semi-translucent elements arranged to allude to an interior space I was exploring circulation through, and views in and out of this space.

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fig 2.20 initial design explorations took the form of sequential, cavernous spaces

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fig 2.21 images of domestic activity overlaid onto images of concept models

I began to imagine, through imposing drawn imagery of domestic activity, how these spaces might be inhabited. Where might the boundaries lie? Which spaces would be the most private? How would one circulate the spaces?

fig 2.22 images of domestic activity overlaid onto images of concept models

I decided however, that these images invoked to me, those of an expired configuration. Walls, corridors - barriers, essentially - that today people are trying to eradicate through renovation. My academic research wanted me to pursue something which acknowledges this departure from segregated space.

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fig 3.01 "swing through spring cleaning with ajax" post-World War 2 era advertisment showing domestic appliances in a garden setting, "suggesting that housework is play" (Hayden, 1981, p27)

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womens' liberation from the 3 domestic realm?

The feminist movement, which began in the late-19th century, has carried through to today and has cast an immense influence on the structure of the family home.

Alongside the changes in social values of the family unit was the rise of sexual equality and subsequent liberation of women from the domestic realm. However this chapter argues that the concurrent rise in privacy of and within the home has had counteractive implications.

The chapter begins with introducing the feminist movement and sexual equality, and how these have influenced the making of the family home. A key player in the movement, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is introduced and her influence and visions for how women and families should live are discussed. Her observation that the single, detached, private dwelling is hurting the social organism in its breeding of interpersonal aspirations while negating collective moral obligations is the crux of what my design responds to. Following this I discuss the movement in relation to increased privacy of the home and its implications that potentially counteract the triumphs of the feminist movement, raising the question of whether women have actually been liberated from the domestic realm, or whether the desire for privacy has further tied them to the domestic sphere.

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fig 3.02 zimmer der dame, muller house, designed by adolf loos. beatriz colomina p 246

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The 19th and early-20th century’s traditional attitude of the home being the woman’s realm (and her only realm) was widely felt. The woman and the home were considered synonymous, “I say mother. And my thoughts are of you, oh, House.

House of the lovely dark summers of my childhood” (Milosz quoted in Bachelard, 1964, p. 45).

Beatriz Colomina’s reflections on Adolf Loos’ Müller House bring to light an architecture of observation and interiority which sets up a number of roles between the occupant and the visitor, and of course the woman and the man. The ‘zimmer der dame’ (‘the woman’s room’) is encased by the winding staircase one must climb to reach it; safely nestled at the top it has a low ceiling and a ‘window’ to the living room above which it is slightly raised. “Suspended in the middle of the house, this space assumes the character both of a “sacred” space and of a point of control.”

(Colomina 1994, p. 244). This architectural manifestation strikes me as the vicissitude of the woman’s control over, and her confinement to, the interior of the house.

The traditional attitude to the woman’s place in the home is further summed up

by Kathryn Sklar’s statement: “if women would agree to limit their participation in the society as a whole … then they could ascend to total hegemony over the domestic sphere” (quoted in Allen, 1988, p.16). Yet feminists argued that women’s expected role as the nurturing, home-dwelling backbone of home-centredness in place of the option of employment outside the home was exploiting women with what was in fact unpaid, hard labour that they were undertaking daily, often in isolation. To this statement, women combating this expectation replied, “a sphere is not a home” (Ryan quoted in Allen 1988, p. 17).

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fig 3.03 plan of kitchenless apartments, with the possibility of couples inhabiting adjacent apartments

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fig 3.04 time and motion analysis of woman in a kitchen

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) was an American socialist dedicated to the liberation and advancement of women. She believed that the organization and socially accepted domestic principles of the single private house were hindering social advancement through the oppression of women, the pursuit of the ‘ultra-male’, sexual inequality, inefficient use of resources and the wasting of the potential of women’s capable minds. Gilman brought to attention the inefficient practices of millions of women simultaneously performing multiple domestic tasks in isolation — cooking, cleaning, child-care, clothes mending, gardening and a host of other daily tasks. She rather humorously likened the irrational situation to the field of commerce wherein “no sane economist could bear the thought of such a colossal waste of labour” (quoted in Allen, 1988, p. 64).

Gilman was first awakened to alternative housing arrangements during her youth, following the “backbreaking misery” she felt (quoted in Allen, 1988, p. 60) as a young married woman torn between the desire for a fulfilling family life and for a career in public service. These insights hugely influenced her subsequent life-long advocacy for female liberation through architectural discourse among other media.

Arrangements such as private apartments with shared cooking, dining and recreational facilities appealed to her as “crucial to the liberation of women” (quoted in Allen, 1988, p. 59).

Her dedication to the merits of modern technology and mass production led her to propose housing communities and neighbourhoods that eradicated independent domestic tasks and outsourced them to specialized industries providing such services at a large scale. For example she believed no house should have a kitchen and occupants should convene three times daily for a shared communal meal they paid for and that was provided by others. Such services would exist also for laundry, childcare, clothes mending etc. Issues of the isolation women experienced through unequal domestic-work loading became the preoccupation for other architectural socialists and utopians (Hayden et al, 1980, Franck, 1989) and are discussed in the next chapter.

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fig 3.05 neighbourhood residents carry roasts and puddings home after using the local baker's oven, London, 1848

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While I believe the reasons behind Gilman’s propositions and stirring of social preconceptions have merit, my support of her housing concepts has its limits. I believe the concept of shared eating, child-care, cleaning etc serve a community well, yet I believe they would be best operated in a way that retains self-sufficiency and skills in a broad range. In other words, inhabitants should share such workloads among themselves rather than out-source such things that are inherent to our sense of identity and well-being. Of these the most important are food preparation and child-care.

Gilman lamented, albeit with less intensity than when she regarded the preparation of food in the household, over the damage children were suffering as a result of such imbalanced and illogical household practices, not only because parents were only able to dedicate leftover time they had after the endurance of the necessary household tasks but equally because children were made to feel that the home was a universe which revolved around them (cited in Allen, 1988, pp. 73–74). I believe that shared in-house childcare would ameliorate this situation; children would still be learning to grow through sharing in a home environment (rather than Gilman’s proposed out-sourcing of child-care, treating it as an impersonal service).

In a shared housing situation with children from multiple families, children from a young age can gain valuable experience in social situations regarding sharing and cooperation. Co-habitation, which is discussed in further detail in chapter four, affords a kind of shared living that goes beyond the physical sharing of spaces.

An overarching benefit of such an operation, Gilman argued and with which I am in total accordance, is the generated awareness of a collective conscience, rather than an interpersonal one. Gilman pointed the finger at the single, detached, private home for the breeding of the ignorance of collective obligations. Summarized by Allen: “alert to the intricacies of stepping on another individual’s toes, people were oblivious to the fact that they could (and did) injure the social organism itself ” (1988, p. 75).

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fig 3.06 Charlotte Perkins Gilman (centre)

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This concept is the foundation on which a private space shared is built. What is inspiring about the feminists who argued for better domestic situations for women is that these aspirations do not just serve women, they have implications for the improved quality of life for all members of the family and the community as a whole.

Combining what is learned from the Western world’s increased desire for privacy I would conclude that this evolution is hindering our progression of equality. Our desire for a private haven for the single family only prolongs the lingering sexist tradition (albeit, perhaps, in a more disguised manner) that the woman must stay at home and uphold this image of homeliness and nurture.

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fig 4.01 ground floor of catering flats in London, with the shared dining hall and catering kitchen highlighted

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4 co-habitation

Building on much of what was discussed in the previous chapter, this chapter goes into further detail about the history and practices of co-habitation. A study on the effects of a doula (a companion to the woman during labour and birth) on the child’s health and the relationship between mother and child is discussed, after which precedent studies are analysed and compared with relevance to what my design offers. These existing projects shed light on contemporary responses to the social and architectural concepts discussed thus far. I will then introduce and discuss Ali Madanipour’s observation of the implementation of social inclusion and exclusion, a theory which bears relevance to the thresholds between the shared and private spaces of my design.

Gilman’s socially charged motivation to improve the domestic environment was at a time when other architects, urbanists and theorists were experimenting with similar ideas. The concept of shared habitation has long been around and although constantly revisited and reshaped the general motives are constant: equality, sociability, security, and efficiency of resources without compromising independence or privacy.

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fig 4.02 Unwin's sketch of the co-operative quadrangle

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Thought to have been conceived, at least in the Western world, in France as early as the beginning of the 19th century (Franck, 1989), residences with centralized household services were soon becoming widely acclaimed for helping relieve women of the burdens of daily household chores, most of whom were performing such tasks concurrently and alone. Well-to-do singles and couples soon popularized the ‘serviced apartment building’ or ‘catered flat’ in which household services were provided. Meals would be cooked in a large kitchen and either shared in a dining room or delivered to the apartments for private dining. Pioneers of the Garden City movement, such as Ebenezer Howard and Raymond Unwin, conceived of and developed the idea of the ‘co-operative quadrangle’, suited to their Garden City-style satellite towns in which individual dwellings were centred around a common dining hall and in which other domestic services were available (Franck, 1989; Hayden, 1981) . Slow to win praise, it began only popular with singles, childless couples and the elderly; families with children were reluctant to engage. The idea was re-envisioned numerous times with variations and adaptations appearing across Europe, in Russia and America. Along with the motive of removing the burden of domestic labour for women, the middle class popularized the service provisions as servants became increasingly difficult to find.

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fig 4.03 shared street in cohousing in Denmark

fig 4.04 Earthsong in Swanson, Auckland

fig 4.05 Awaaroa in Waiheke 102

The modern concept of ‘cohousing’, a term to describe the living arrangement in which occupants have private, self-contained dwellings and share common facilities, was conceived in Denmark around the mid 1960s (Franck, 1989, p. 101). It differs from the shared habitation popularized in the 19th and early-20th century as services tend not to be provided; it is self-run by the inhabitants. It became hugely popular in Denmark, Sweden and other European countries and still is, particularly for families; however there are comparatively few examples in New Zealand (fig 4.04 - 4.05).

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fig 4.06 statue depicting a doula caring for a woman in labour

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One of the aims of the designed project is to nourish parent–child relations, while offering a higher level of social engagement. Shared habitation is the primary means through which this is encouraged, and one set of studies provides insight into the potential health and social benefits of such companionship. The studies were carried out by Klaus and Kennell in Guatemala, and emphasized the advantages to having company during labour and birth, both for mother–child relationship and for the health of the child. These studies show evidence for the potential benefits of having company and support during child-rearing.

The first study investigated the influence a supportive companion for the woman during labour and birth (known as a ‘doula’) had on “the length of labour, perinatal complications and maternal–infant interaction in the first hour after birth in an obstetrical setting in which mothers routinely labour alone” (Klaus & Kennel, 1982, p. 26). The doula was a woman that the birthing mother didn’t know; she simply offered support in the form of female company. Positive actions from the mother toward her new child such as smiling, stroking and talking in the immediate hours after the birth were significantly increased in the study group (which had the doulas present) compared with the control group (who had no doula present).

There were also increased complications during the birth for the women in the control group. The second study looked at the long-term implications of the presence of such a companion. Similarly, the results of the women in the study group were positive, with fewer complications and hospitalizations for the child in the six months following the birth.

These findings emphasize the benefits of having support present during the potentially stressful time of birth. This in turn holds implications for the potentially positive influence of having support present, in the form of other people experiencing similar things, during child-rearing.

Co-habitation is a form of nurturing this support. Early on in my research I studied a number of peoples’ homes across the Western world that operated with varying degrees of co-habitation. The following pages outline the key features of the living arrangments.

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private

fig 4.07 privacy analysis of Turakina street flat

first floor plan

front entry

ground floor plan

fig 4.08 ground and first floor plan of Turakina street flat 106

shared

fig 4.09 16 Turakina Street, Grey Lynn

architect address building type key features

unknown grey lynn, auckland single detached dwelling flexible spaces, connection to back garden

fig 4.10 location map

16 turakina street, grey lynn, auckland

My flat at 16 Turakina Street, Grey Lynn, seemed to me a logical place in which to assess the spatial qualities, since I was very aware of how it was occupied and what forces drove this. The diagram in figure 4.07 is a map of the boundaries of privacy that I observed in the household, which consisted of 3 young couples; a mixture of professionals and students. The upper level comprised two bedrooms and a dressing room; my partner and I occupied a bedroom and the dressing room.

This in fact meant that the verandah boths these rooms opened onto was ‘our space’ also, since one had to walk through our rooms to get to it. I am interested in this sense of spatial appropriation as a result of surrounding space.

The house had been renovated to flow into the back garden more, and this space as you can see in the diagram became highly used by visitors to the house. I had always thought it were strange having a bedroom immediately to the right as one entered the house. It is possible that it was initially a formal lounge however it was more suited to a bedroom in our living circumstance. I observed that the required movement through common spaces before reaching the upstairs bedrooms gave those rooms a better sense of privacy than the downstairs bedroom. It also gave an added purpose to the adjacent room, which tended to act as a buffer to the lively kitchen hub beyond, and whose use was little defined. This room in fact became a room of open use; a study, music room, lounge, movie room; its function changed frequently and this became an amenity to the flat, as we were required to be creative about its use and negotiate its use with the other flatmates.

Furthermore, I noticed that with the other bedrooms tucked away upstairs, there was incentive to arrive and walk into the common space in order to greet anyone that was home, rather than hurry straight into a bedroom.

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fig 4.11 the 'buffer' room between entrance and kitchen hub - this room's use changed frequently because its use was relatively undefined

fig 4.12 the entrace to the kitchen hub, where most activity took place. the room was light and connected well to the garden.

fig 4.13 a large, low window further connected the kitchen to the outdoors, beyond which a covered patio was a frequent place to receive visitors

fig 4.14 the covered patio from within the kitchen space

108

Interestingly this was observation was emphasised when the same group of people subsequently moved to a villa which had three bedrooms immediately to the left and right as one entered the house; all the common spaces were down the back of the house. I noticed that when people arrived home they tended to go to their rooms and spend time there on their own before deciding to go out into the common space.

In reflection I feel that the main entrance to a shared residence must invite people to the common spaces, as well as giving the option to part off into a private space.

If the invitation to the private space is stronger, that is the option that occupants will most likely take.

fig 4.15 the kitchen (no furniture in this photo)

fig 4.16 the laundry beyond the kitchen (no furniture in this photo)

fig 4.17 from the buffer room the stairs to the upstairs bedrooms can be seen; the point of choice to enter the shared space or retreat privately

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fig 4.18 the residents enjoy a shared front outdoor space which has a boundary from the street

fig 4.19 the interior and exterior central stairwell are secondary access for residents between ground and upper floor, and an informal connection between dwellings; residents often left their back doors open to the neighbours

fig 4.20 the shared garden abutting other shared properties of similar layout

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fig 4.21 the front entrance from the street

architect address building type key features

unknown bondi, sydney block of flats common entry, front and back gardens

fig 4.22 location plan within Bondi

11 castlefield street, bondi, sydney

11 Castlefield street is a block of four flats in Bondi, Sydney. The residents enjoy a shared entry, front and back gardens and stairs at the back of the building. It is an example of an invaluable sense of community, support and security without a sense of architectural imposition to behave in such a way.

Through this study and others I have understood the extent of the value of the option of a separated work space in the home, regardless of whether one's employment takes place from home or elsewhere. Another observation is the amenity of undefined rooms - in the case of these flats they were small, sunny rooms extending from bedrooms. These rooms may be suitablefor a bedroom, but could also be used as a guest room, study room, music room, baby's room, storage room, sunroom, winter garden etc. depending factors such as its location, orientation, adjoining room and nature of connection to that room; the options become vast.

Two occupants made renovations extending into the roof and into the basement respectively, to align the home with their changing needs (they have both occupied their flats for more than 20 years). The experience of two of the individual flats out of four gave me a sense that each dwelling enjoyed much more than one quarter of a shared property.

fig 4.23 the first entrance is shared, beyond which each dwelling has a private front door 111

fig 4.24 no. 1/11 living room

fig 4.25 no. 1/11 kitchen

fig 4.26 no. 1/11 small room accessed from a bedroom

fig 4.27 no. 4/11 kitchen

fig 4.28 no. 4/11 small room accessed from a bedroom 112

fig 4.29 many of the residents work from home

fig 4.30 relaxing on the back garden deck often involves neighbours gathering to say hello.

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fig 4.31 cross section showing pedestrian street

fig 4.32 pedestrian street with entrances to private homes

fig 4.33 pedestrian street operating as semi-outdoor space 114

architect address building type key features

vandkunsten architects denmark cohousing multi unit dwellings, cohousing shared covered pedestrian 'street' common/share house common amenities

fig 4.34 view from above

jystrup saavaerket co-housing, denmark

This cohousing project is a successful attempt at providing useful space for both summer and winter. The glass-covered pedestrian 'streets' which meet at a common house and where the front doors to the private dwellings stem from, has become an extension of each person's private space, "functioning as a vestibule to leave coats and boots, as a play area, and as a gathering place." (Franck, 1989, p.

107)

fig 4.35 back of private dwelling 115

ousing, Stroud

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e Finalist Springhill Cohousing, Stroud ving’ mon

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pringhill Cohousing in Stroud is the first new build cohousing This community fig 4.36 communal dining in the UK and is a possible model for future sustainable communities. This ‘creative way of living’ te comprises 35 households plus a Common etHouse where people cook and eat together at least four times a week. This substantial additional space makes it easy for people to have smaller private dwellings with a safe pedestrian street othrough the middle of the site. The llCommon as House is the hub of the community, a communal extension to residents’ private living rooms. As well as hanging out for a chat and a cup of cing, coffee, there are regular singing, dancing, tai chi groups, films, parties and celebrations. Downstairs there is a fig 4.37 communal gardening workshop, table tennis area and laundry.

dry.

fig 4.38 intergenerational interaction

itself and in relation to the rest of the in commissioning the construction.

Designed by Architype, long-term world.in While cynics may the of the Three housing units are subsidised in itself and relation toscoff theatrest in commissioning the construction. specialists in timber frame houses in the idealism of cohousing, Springhill offers perpetuity at 15% below market value. world. While cynics may scoff at the units are subsidised in Walter Segal Three tradition, housing the project shows how a small, inconvenient sloping site belowInmarket Denmark, from a standing start in Springhill offers Springhill an idealism of cohousing, offers the perpetuity at 15% value. can be transformed into a new the 1970s, 3–4% of the population now innovative but practical ows community. Timber construction and live in cohousing. In Stroud they are hill-slope site a from a already working on schemes ecladding give theIn Denmark, standing start in for coflats and rather sensible 21st distinctive character and the relatively and actively looking for other sites to the 1970s, population now continue to narrow, pedestrianised ‘main 3–4% street’ of thedevelop.

As UK households century version of meanders around the site parallel with change and shrink cohousing may offer live in cohousing. In Stroud they are communitarianism the contours, creating a characterful answers more widely. The high level of already working on schemes for coflats village feel. Walking and cycling are single parents at Springhill (nearly half an innovative but practical and rather priority modes of transport within the the other families with children) ly and actively looking for sites to shows how sensible 21st century version of area and beyond. While car ownership cohousing responds to their need for As UKlower households continue tointeraction communitarianism; there is no sense of remains high, develop. car use is reportedly safety, services and social imposed ethos. In fact the efforts to than average, with easy walking access to close to home.

A third of the residents th change and shrink cohousing may offer make consensus decisions are clearly the town centre. of Springhill work from home and the answers more widely. nature The high level of means there is tiring, yet the commitment remains of the community because the residents know the Recycling, community composting, a lot of business support sharing, single parents at Springhill (nearly half alternative – distant bureaucracy, poor high-intensity insulation, PV panels, a offering a glimpse of a possible future but practical and heSustainable Urban the Drainage families with children) showsenterprise how integratedan innovative services, individual powerlessness and rather System for home-based social isolation.

(SUDS), and a car-sharing scheme all with more sustainable living. sensible 21st century version of pcontribute tocohousing responds to their need for an environmentally communitarianism; there is no sense of wer safety, services and social View interaction of the Panel sensitive scheme.

The meaning of ‘health This is a small but extremely successful care and social services’ is transformed imposed ethos. In fact the efforts to ssbyto close to home. A thirdcohousing of thedevelopment, residentsthought to be cohousing where it is so much easier make consensus decisions are clearly ofhealthy Springhill work thehome first of itsand kind the in the country. The to eat well, be and lookstreet out for from fig 4.39 pedestrian involvement of residents is impressive, each other.116 Something in the overall tiring, yet the commitment remains nature of the community means there is constant and fulfilling to all. The sense attitude of the site minimises negative the residents know the , and enhancesapositive lot ofenvironmental businessand support sharing,to the locality is because of contribution Contact palpable, but the absence of coercion is David Michael social impacts.

“

“Springhill offers an

innovative but practical ” and rather sensible 21st century version of communitarianism”

architect address building type key features

Architype Stroud, England multi unit dwellings, cohousing focus on shared space, ownership and activity; caters to families of which half are single-parent; sustainable building technologies

fig 4.40 shared outdoor area

springhill co-housing, stroud, england

The first new-build cohousing project in the UK, Springhill Cohousing focuses on communal activity in shared space, allowing for smaller private dwellings for individuals. It accommodates different household types ranging from 5-bedroom houses to one-bedroom. The project is set around a pedestrianised 'main street' with all cars left to the boundary of the property. The common household is where people can cook, eat, do their laundry, and use a variety of services such as a workshop, table tennis room etc. The scheme caters to all household types but interestingly many are single-parent families, where the cohousing "responds to [the single parent family's] need for safety, services and social interaction close to home." (British Urban Regeneration Association, 2005, p. 10).

fig 4.41 apartments are not completely private from one another

117

fig 4.42 cross section showing 'winter garden' (jardin hiver)

fig 4.43 plan of housing

fig 4.44 spatial occupation of winter garden space

fig 4.45 residents' living room 118

architect address building type key features

Lacaton et Vassal mulhouse, france single family houses large spaces with cheap, quality building materials; informal/flexible spaces within each dwelling fig 4.46 street view

social housing, mulhouse, france

Lacaton and Vassal’s housing focuses on larger spaces for a small budget. As a result they often achieve spaces over and above what the client has requested in the brief, therefore providing unplanned, unprogrammed space left to the occupant to define and appropriate. Employing technologies often from other industries (such as the agricultural-inspired winter garden spaces) they combine simple technology with comfortable living.

fig 4.47 different resident's occupation of winter garden space 119

DW

DW

DW DW

DW DW

UP

DW DW

most permanent spatial function

least permanent spatial function

fig 4.48 permanence of spatial function

DW

DW

DW DW

DW DW

UP

DW DW

private (example occupant's own) discretionary shared - cluster shared - community public

fig 4.49 single occupant's spatial boundaries

private

shared

fig 4.50 private space thresholds over the site

120

What these discussed living arrangements offer at a broad spectrum, through the means of co-habitation, is the ability for the individual to be active within a balanced level of social interaction and privacy. This means the benefits of the two can inform each other, and a balance is less likely to tip to one end of the scale (either too much privacy or too much social interaction). Ali Madanipour described this concept using the terms ‘social inclusion’ and ‘social exclusion’ (see definitions p. 6-7) and discussed the wider implications it has in terms of spatiality. He advocated for inclusion and exclusion in society at all levels for its fabric to function well, stressing that there needs to be a balance. “At the individual level, seeking privacy without seeking social interaction would lead to isolation. At the social level, exclusion [privacy] without inclusion [social interaction] would lead to a collapse of social structures. What is a negative state of affairs, therefore, is not exclusion in all forms but an absence of inclusionary processes, a lack of a balance between exclusion and inclusion” (Madanipour, 2003, p. 189). This emphasizes the sensitive balance which must be manifested between exclusion and inclusion in the design of a private space shared.

Following the design development process, I diagrammed the site in the same way I analysed the Bethany Centre and my flat at Turakina Street. The diagram of private space compared to shared space indicates there is a much smaller level of private space allocated, however this is not to be misinterpreted. The private space is minimal, as I believe private space should be — somewhere you go to do something on your own. The scale is small as it caters to the individual. The shared space is then open to use by a number of people. However, as the diagram of each space’s flexibility of use shows, much of the shared space is very flexible.

There is also a large amount of it, compared with that of private space. This is set up so as to encourage the occupants to be able to oscillate between private activity and shared activity, through negotiation and spatial appropriation (which is further discussed in the next chapter). Looking back at Michelet’s observation that the bird carves its own room according to the spatial needs of its body as discussed in the proposal for a private space shared, in the same sense the private room unit is open to the spatial carving by the occupant. They may open it and encourage the flow of their private and communal lives to integrate, or they may close it and securely pad it around themselves, retaining separation from the social sharing space.

121

fig 4.51 close up of portion of final presentation showing diversity of uses of shared and private spaces. Yellow stitched fabric indicates curtain position 122

For example, writing an email on a laptop is a solitary activity, which an occupant may wish to do in a shared space. Other occupants will recognize that their activity is a solitary one, yet understand that the reader is also sharing their activity. This is an example of how the shared space might be occupied in a neutral way — neither socially inclusive nor exclusive.

The informal layout of the dwellings within the shared space also lends itself to creating areas within the shared space that lean more towards privacy, and areas that lean more towards shared activity. As in the glass-covered ‘pedestrian street’ in Jystrup Saavaerket (see figure 4.32 - 4.33 on page 114) which is the common entrance space off which each private dwelling extends, occupants will begin to use the spaces, directing them to a more private or more shared condition.

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natalie is going up on top of the room unit to check on georgia and dylan who are playing games up there

9.

11.

8.

11.

7.

8.

4.

james is growing some tomato vines up the columns 2.

11.

mischa left behind this big table as a gift to the community when she bought a house last year

pram parking

lily sewed an entrance mat 3.

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juliet is 8 months pregnant and has been getting tips from raukura about breastfeeding

7.

fig 4.52 occupants appropriating space and defining its purpose DW

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Madanipour also compares homogeneity and heterogeneity in cities and spaces, stressing that both the focus on eradication of difference and contrastingly the emphasis of difference have “failed to cure the wounds of those living on the edge of the society” (2003, p. 77). Towards the end of the Bethany Centre’s tenancy, its residents tended towards this ‘edge’, requiring further support from such agencies as the Teen Parent Unit, Child Youth and Family and the District Health Board Mental Health Unit (Rattray, 2013). Whilst my design of a private space shared is not proposing a centre catering to this particular minority demographic, it proposes to accommodate new parents, many of whom might be single parents. What I want to avoid is a development which sets single parents and their children apart by emphasising their difference, as this could be just as disruptive as something which attempts to treat them as though they have the same needs as a family of five. A design endeavour in response to this is to create an environment that is sympathetic to women and children but that does not ostracize a different demographic if they were to choose to live there (a couple, or a single father with a child, for example).

I propose that a shared habitation arrangement is an ideal canvas through which to manifest the optimal balance between social inclusion and social exclusion — between space of privacy and space of shared use. The concept is to provide a home for the intimate nurturing of children (something that our families have come to value highly, as discussed in previous chapters), without compromising social engagement for adults and children alike. This is something my research concludes has been compromised with the rise in the desire for privacy and intimacy of the family home.

The nature of a private space shared creates shared spaces that are flexible and sensitive to change as the dwellings are inhabited by different occupants concurrently, and by different occupants over time. These occupants will begin to define the perception of each space from its adjacent space. Because private space is minimal and shared space is plentiful, the shared space is therefore encouraged to be appropriated by the occupants. This is discussed further in the next chapter.

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Le nid tiède et calme Où chante l’oiseau Rappelle les chansons, les charmes Le seuil pur De la vielle maison.

The warm, calm nest In which a bird sings

Recalls the songs, the charms, The pure threshold Of my old home.

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5 spatial appropriation

Michel Foucault stated that only through social inhabitation is space given meaning (cited in Fokdal, 2008). This chapter pursues how spaces in a private space shared may be inhabited through encouraging the occupants to give them meaning. I introduced the proportion of shared space to private space in the previous chapter and now I will look at how these spaces might be appropriated, settled, defined as private or otherwise, and therefore given meaning. I will begin with a study by Josefine Fokdal on spatial appropriation in a social housing project in Copenhagen and the power balance this reflects between the architect and the occupant. This will lead into a discussion of the nature of the shared and private spaces, relating to physical manifestations discussed in Fokdal’s study. Research into nomadic tribes in Tibet introduces the discussion of transience and permanence, and is then related in a contemporary context to studies of renting tenants’ ability to ‘make a home’ in a modern, perceptibly ‘temporary’ setting. Weaving in Gaston Bachelard’s observation of the paradoxical image of the home as a nest — at once stable and precarious — I relate this to how the environment of a private space shared might begin to resemble this vacillating balance of the two conditions, and how the residents may be invited to appropriate the spaces and make them their own, despite the potential temporariness of their home. Spatial appropriation therefore becomes a function of settlement, which in turn begins to distinguish private space from shared space.

opposite: le nid tiède (the warm nest) Jean Caubère quoted in Bachelard, 1964, p. 99 127

fig 5.01 Fokdal's documentation of the spatial appropriation at the entrances to residences

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In a study that looks at the transition space between the common entry and the individual dwelling doors in social housing in Copenhagen, Josefine Fokdal discussed the power of the user of space to give it meaning. “The residents’ expressions are articulated by means of objects, such as figures, doormats, stickers, plants, and even shopping carts. This indicates that most attempts to communicate an interest or to create an identity are made with physical additions, through social practice” (Fokdal, 2008, p. 7). Fokdal was interested in the power interrelations between inhabitants and also the relations between the inhabitants and the higher powers, i.e the State. She emphasized the fact that the transitional space would not exist if not designed for the inhabitants to enter the buildings, but paradoxically the inhabitants, or users, are bound by the conditions and regulations of the authorities in use of this space. She concluded, “it is crucial for architects to have an understanding of the users’ interest in space and their expressions of spatial concerns” (p. 8).

It is understandable that the authorities share some power over these spaces, but Fokdal’s point is that the power balance is disproportionate to the space’s use. De Certeau (cited in Fokdal, (year), p. 10), while distinguishing ‘space’ from ‘place’ argued of the distinction between the two through social practice of individuals: “space only becomes meaningful through social practice, whose context is a place.”

Fokdal continued, “a city is worthless without its inhabitants. He [De Certeau] states that the material structures have no content themselves and that it is the social practice that gives them meaning and function” (p. 11). This concept supports my architectural rationale and is carried into the spaces of a private space shared through the simple arrangement of private ‘room units’ within a larger enclosed space. The architecture does not dictate where every activity must take place; its focus is to simply provide enough thresholds so that all modes of living can be accommodated: from the very private to the communal. It is proposed that this flexibility will empower the occupants to engage with the potential of the space, assigning it meaning through spatial appropriation.

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the skylight and window pulley systems operate the same

kim's mother is visiting and looking after mahli while she feeds her twin

the skylights are positioned above the columns so the chains can be hooked to them and don't get in the way

kim prefers to breastfeed mila in her own room

tim is opening the skylights so it doesn't get too stuffy this afternoon

fig 5.02 sectional image showing manual operation of the ventilation encouraging people to engage with the environment and negotiate how it is lived in

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As previously stated, a great proportion of the total space will be subject to common spatial appropriation. These common spaces will be subject to constant change, as the young families (or whichever demographic is being housed) change, increase or decrease their spatial requirements and move on, being replaced by another (group of) occupant(s). Foucault (quoted in Fokdal, (2008), p. 12) articulated the idea that “since the space is produced by social practices, it is possible to change its meaning through these.” Thus, the space’s meaning will be subject to constant change.

This will encourage not just the sharing of common space but the discussion, negotiation and compromise that come with the sharing of a space in constant flux. When discussing the work of the architects Lacaton and Vassal, Ilka Ruby and Andreas Ruby celebrated the architects’ championing of the un-programmed, flexible space, described as “a gift to the inhabitants” (Ruby & Ruby, 2002, p. 15) provided over and above the prescribed program in the common brief. It is after viewing the spaces in their occupation that the architects realise “it is a space without a program but with innate possibilities that are almost always first exploited by the residents and cannot be planned” (p. 15). While referring to a non-residential project, that of an architecture school, the same approach produces such an effect: “this enclosed outdoor space becomes the most important part of the School of Architecture, as it offers room for informal activities and events that significantly shape the life of the school, although they were never explicitly envisaged in the spatial program” (Ruby & Ruby, (year), p. 15).

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fig 5.03 unprogrammed spaces in Lacaton & Vassal's buildings

drawing of sBra-gur tent laid out with central seam B.Gordon L.Kestrel

fig 5.04 drawings of tent-making lobsang tenzing, artist

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This thesis looks to accommodate those who aren’t necessarily looking for a place of permanence or settlement. Whilst the nature of ownership or tenure is not something I am proposing, it is interesting to note that while owner-occupier situations are still the most common tenure situation in New Zealand, the proportion of households not owned by its usual residents has increased in the past two decades, as the proportion of households owned by its residents has decreased.

This implies a greater level of transience as people are not purchasing a house and settling down as much as they might have done 20 or more years ago. At the time of the 2006 census the average length of residence for any dwelling type or tenure was 1–4 years (1.2 million or 31%) with the second most common length of stay being less than 1 year (0.9 million or 23%). Although Statistics New Zealand does not have information on this before the 2006 census, this still means over half (54%) of all households in New Zealand had occupants living there for less than 4 years. This is the length of tenure for which the design of a private space shared would be well suited.

My research in tendencies and perceptions of more transient dwellers led me to investigations into nomadic tribes of the non-Western world, to get an idea of an entirely different approach to temporary living. It is interesting to place this alternative living arrangement in the discussion of transience versus permanent dwelling. Suzanne Ewing discussed dwelling practice and production in Eastern Tibet, looking at the tendencies of the nomadic pastoralists, and drew correlations between their settlement and the fabrication of their dwellings. Ewing noted that despite the fact that “the domestic hearth of the nomads with its primitive protective roof structure remained at all times the sacred symbol of civilisation” (Ewing quoted in Madge and Peckham, 2006, p. 419), historians at times depicted the tent (or sBra-Gur as it is known) as inferior to the permanent Tibetan house in terms of sophistication, “demonstrating a value differentiation between permanent and impermanent” (p. 422). The practices and fabrication techniques however depicted a high level of sophistication employed by the nomadic tribes. For the historians, perhaps the perception of inferiority lay in the lack of permanence of the homes, more than anything else.

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This view may be demonstrated when considering rented homes as opposed to owned homes (both situations which may be adopted in my design). One woman interviewed by Sharon Milne in a thesis researching single mothers’ access to housing in Auckland emphasizes some of these issues with her own experiences:

I think home, even that word is very important because when you rent people sometimes don't even give you a housewarming or anything.. at one time I was renting with my sister [and brother], when we all went our separate ways my brother went to live with someone and it was all warm and fuzzies and great and my sister went off to build her own house and that was all house warming stuff and I went to live in a flat and got nothing - and I'll always remember it because I thought this is my new home that I'm trying to establish and it didn't count...

(Milne 101)

This social judgement that those who rent, or temporarily stay somewhere, experience, is a burden on their ability to make a home regardless of permanence or the perception of it. It is more difficult for someone to feel comfortable when their occupancy of some place (whether it be home or any other place) has a known end, than if they were somewhere they felt they could stay forever if they liked.

Paired with the difficulties those renting face in making significant changes to the property in which they live this provides a challenge in designing a place to be inhabited by multiple tenants (together, and one after the other) over a long period of time. For these tenants, regardless of their length of stay, the design needs to be flexible to making a home through appropriation of space and the forming of a personal identity within the private space.

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fig 5.05 like the nomadic dwellers line their tents with their belongings for insulation, so do we, in turn offering an aesthetic of our personalities

fig 5.06 a private room at BirthCare, where women stay up to three nights immediately after giving birth

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Although one of the more extreme manifestations of temporary stay, nomads’ tendencies of inhabitation nonetheless offer grounds on which today’s patterns of temporary living may be based. For example the few possessions they had were stacked on the outer edges of the tent, filling the air gaps and providing insulation between the interior hearth and the hostile environment outside (Ewing in Madge & Peckham, 2006, p. 432). In a similar fashion bookshelves and other furniture lining the walls of some of today’s homes offer an added depth of insulation, whilst being filled with our belongings and giving meaning to the space. This act of insulation with possessions was perhaps simply practical in the traditional nomadic sense yet would have helped create some sense of identity in a temporary space.

The studies of nomadic tribes by Ewing also indicated permanent or temporary space through materiality. The tents were made from the woven hairs of yaks, hand spun and woven by the women to produce five-metre-long strips of dense fabric which were seamed together using horn toggles. The fabric was further weatherproofed whilst yak dung was burned inside the tent, adding layers of oily soot to the fabric from the inside which, when wet, swelled and became completely waterproof. New strips were added annually to the inside of the tent as the older strips rotted and weathered in the sun. This was a constant process of renewal of the tent shelter the nomads packed up and took with them when they migrated.

Contrastingly, the earth- or clay-built stoves over which the nomads pitched their tents were a permanent fixture, offering a hearth within the tent when in use and remaining a symbol of departure when the nomads moved on, awaiting the next group of migrants to settle around it.

The design for new parents nurturing their children deals with similar issues of migration. A possible scenario is that the family has just come from a transient place of hospital and subsequently a place such as BirthCare, after which they are looking for a private space — a home to nurture and give safety to their child. They don’t have the resources to set up a solid, permanent home yet they are in search for something which may give them a feeling of settlement and permanence whilst they can save the resources to provide this for themselves.

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fig 5.07 bird's eye view of Piha campground

fig 5.08 spatial appropriation of informal shared space at back of campervan position, Piha campground

fig 5.09 plan view of a cluster sporting simllarities to a camp ground

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The shared structure in the design provides this place of permanence — it is the hearth whose position and structure doesn’t change, yet, providing shelter, security and feeling of a home. Its occupancy is malleable for those inhabiting it at the time. The dwellings are effectively the tents — albeit not as temporary as a nomadic tent — wherein the family can function privately and which the family can appropriate, giving it meaning and familiarity for a given time. The private dwelling spaces are positioned arbitrarily and informally about the shared space much like tents might be about a campfire. This arrangement provides opportunities at the back of the dwellings to further appropriate space around them, much like one might in a camp ground.

This physical provision of permanent and impermanent space is an attempt to move away from social judgement (and in some cases discrimination) against those who make a home out of a place of temporary stay, aiding in the ability to feel that a place of temporary stay can be as nurturing and providing as one of permanent stay. Gaston Bachelard, drawing on the similarity between a bird’s nest and the human desire to make a nest to return to, raised the point that “a nest — and this we understand right away — is a precarious thing, and yet it sets us to daydreaming of security.” (Bachelard, 1964, p. 102, author’s emphasis). So owing to this thought, perhaps the proposed housing could be thought of as a nest — stable and bearing all things we dream of pertaining to home, yet unguarded and in place to potentially move with a change in circumstance.

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In his chapter, ‘The meanings of domesticity’, Bart Verschaffel made reference to an article by historian Jean-Pierre Vernant in which he compared two Greek Gods of contrasting yet complementary symbols (Vernant cited in Verschaffel, year, p.

245): the Goddess Hestia who is “the goddess of the hearth, of the fire, the centre, of house and home — she stands for fixity, immobility” and the God Hermes who stands for “movement, change, exchange, communication” — essentially Hermes is always on the move. Vernant argued the reason for their complementary nature is the notion that the nest could not exist without movement and journey; one must be able to arrive home to rest and feel the warmth of the hearth, having been about and doing business elsewhere. Similarly, one needs a place of stay, of home, in order to give rise to the need to go out and get away. “A house, therefore, is not just a hearth, it is also door and window and threshold. A house that is nothing but centre and place goes insane” (Verschaffel, year, p. 245). This was echoed by Bachelard’s conversation around the nest and home: “a nest-house … is the natural habitat of the function of inhabiting. For not only do we come back to it, but we dream of coming back to it, the way a bird comes back to its nest, or a lamb to the fold” (1964, p. 99).

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fig 5.10 the residents of this house by Lacaton et Vassal were 'gifted' this added, unprogrammed, semi-indoor semi-outdoor space which they had not stipulated in the brief. such unplanned space however has proven worthwhile and easily occupied

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It becomes clear in this chapter that the architect of a place has a duty to design space that the occupant can appropriate and make meaningful. Space needs meaning applied to it to become socially comfortable and relevant — to become place. Through designing for flexible spatial appropriation, as is so successful in the projects of Lacaton and Vassal, the residents are encouraged to apply purpose and give meaning to their space. There is precedence in the design of a private space shared for shared space, and the need to appropriate the shared spaces encourages occupants to compromise, negotiate and discuss how they desire to live in their environment.

I would also conclude that there is a perceived superiority of permanent homemaking over temporary home-making in the Western world, despite their equal importance. Most importantly there is a need for the two to coexist (much like the need for the coexistence of social inclusion and exclusion, and the coexistence of private space and shared space). The setting up of the informal relationship between the more permanent use of the dwellings and the more temporary and flexible use of the shared space encourages this coexistence. Each occupant’s home, which effectively encompasses all shared space on the site, therefore comprises the stability of permanence and the flexibility of impermanence, supporting Bachelard’s observation of the balance between precariousness and security in the provocative image of the home as the nest.

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conclusion

The Salvation Army’s Bethany Centre was an enlightened response to what was potentially a negative experience for unmarried mothers, and is an inspiration for this thesis project. In the wake of its demolition, the warmth of its environment is uncovered as a legacy to be continued. Its service gradually became redundant due to social acceptance of unmarried mothers, hence my proposal seeks not to remake that but suggests a contemporary alternative living arrangement to the single detached dwelling, that is based on the benefits of support through shared living of those going through similar stages in life.

The tones of isolation inherent in the circumstance of unwed motherhood many years ago are today less felt, however developments in our behaviours, desires and the home environments we create for ourselves have not altogether eradicated this prospect. As this thesis has discussed, and while attempting to avoid immersing it deeply within the throes of feminism, it has become apparent that the concurrent movements to liberate women from the burdens of domesticity, and to privatize our lives, have been counteractive to one another. This thesis looks to adapt to and embrace both these behavioural evolutions, rather than hinder them.

In the proposal to live in an alternative arrangement to the single, private dwelling so prevalent today, this thesis encourages families to alter their view of domestic tasks such as washing, cooking and childcare, to become a foundation for social activity. In doing so, activities can be shared, making for a resourceful, liberating and sociable experience. It also encourages families to alter their attitude to the need for private space, to acknowledge that private space is valuable in small measures; its indulgence detrimental, as Arendt (1958, p. 58) so succinctly expressed. The balance of social inclusion and social exclusion (i.e, the option to participate and the option to retreat) becomes paramount.

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Pursuit of the nature of private and shared spaces revealed the behaviours of occupants and architects that made these spaces so. An awareness of the position of an architect was heightened in the writing of this thesis: to their power, and their duties. As De Certeau indicated, space without meaning is worthless; it is the occupants who give it meaning, yet, it is the architect who frames the space and must make it open to appropriation. The value of unplanned space is demonstrated in the projects by Lacaton and Vassal (see p. 118-119, 132, 142) and Vandkunsten Architects (see p. 114-115) wherein the residents are given the freedom to not only appropriate the space but to give it purpose. The synchronicity of permanent and temporary space, private and shared space, socially inclusive and socially exclusive space sets up thresholds wherein a broad spectrum of spatial appropriation can occur.

The proposal offers families the means of gaining the support needed at the time of a new child’s arrival, whilst testing the waters of an alternative living arrangement. With the anticipation that each family might stay between six months and four years (without a limit imposed), this sensitive balance of temporary and permanent living will also be a move toward challenging the social judgment of transitory space, and revealing to families the options available aside from the single-family dwelling.

In the context of the housing crisis in Auckland today (Auckland Plan, 2013) this thesis proposes a means of alleviating such an issue, by offering dwellings at a greater density than the current average. The project has implications for a more sustainable way of living, placing it in a realistic and relevant context today. However most significantly, in terms of the intent of my research, the design of a private space shared aims to encourage shared experiences and tasks of the domestic realm during the time of learning and unknowns that is raising a child.

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umnists/vernon-small/8932902/Mortgage-brake-a-headache-for-Key Statistics New Zealand. (2013). Caring for children: Findings from the 2009/10

time use survey. Retrieved from the Statistics New Zealand website:

http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/ time_use/caring-for-children.aspx Statistics New Zealand. (2012). Vulnerable children and families: Some findings

from the New Zealand general social survey. Retrieved from the Statistics

New Zealand website:

http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/ Children/vulnerable-children.aspx Structural insulated panel guide. (2011). New Zealand, Bondor NZ.

155

Teige, K. And E. Dluhosch. (2002). The minimum dwelling. (Translated from

Germal by E. Dluhosch). Cambridge: MIT Press.

Tezuka, T. and Y. Tezuka. (2013, August 14). Nostalgic future. Unpublished lecture

notes, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Topham, S. (2004). Move house. Munich: Prestel.

Topham, S. and C. Smith. (2002). Xtreme houses. Munich: Prestel.

Trevett, C. (2013, Mar 7). Housing plan a winner for labour. The New

Zealand Herald. Retrieved from www.nzherald.co.nz/news/print.

cfm?objectid=10858231 1/

Turner, D. (2010). Planning for higher density : concepts of privacy in Auckland’s

culture of housing. (PhD Thesis). University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Tyler, L. (2007). Designing for maternity and morality: homes for “fallen” and

“uncontrollable” girls in the 1890s. In McCarthy, C. (ed) Strident effects

of instant sophistication: New Zealand architecture in the 1890s: a one

day symposium. Wellington: Centre for Building Performance Research,

Victoria University.

Weinstein, C. and T. David. (1987). Spaces for children: The built environment and

156

child development. New York: Plenum Press.

appendices

157

appendix 1: final crit presentation board (actual size 2200mm x 700mm) and model images by Fritha Hobbs (opposite) appendix 2: final crit presentation board (actual size 2200mm x 1500mm)

a private space shared at 35 dryden street, grey lynn site plan and suggestions of occupation at 1:50 key 1. ramp 2. shared flexible space 3. shared kitchen 4. shared flexible room unit 5. shared storage 6. shared wc 7. shared service slice 8. private service slice 9. private storage 10. private room unit 11. track for full height curtain 12. wash house 13. bathing house

eet schofield str

north

12.

1.

13. charlette and waldo are showing olivia how they bathe their newborn in the shallow baby s pool simon s brought his baby out to the wash house while he puts on a load of washing

11.

11.

11.

rose is bathing with her newborn in a private cubicle

10.

11.

7.

these guys usually keep their curtains pulled back as they enjoy the big open sunny space they get to share

DW 3. harriet is making dinner for her 14 year old daughter derya, who is going to look after zane and laura's kids tonight while they see a movie

DW 8.

9.

10.

10. sam keeps a toaster and kettle in his room; he's making afternoon tea while his baby sleeps

bryce and lauren prefer to eat meals in their room unit but occasionally dine with the rest of the residents on weekends

11.

11.

reuben closes this curtain in the mornings to make a sun room for reading the paper

9.

8.

9.

9.

10.

9.

natalie is going up on top of the room unit to check on georgia and dylan who are playing games up there

8.

10.

8.

everyone parks their prams here

8.

5.

11.

6.

10.

each week night a different adult cooks for anyone who would like a meal; they usually all fit around the table

4.

11.

2.

7.

7.

11.

8.

nicky is making a curtain for her room

2.

DW

9.

sometimes suzie pulls this curtain when she wants to breastfeed in the shared space

11.

4.

7.

7.

3.

cassie is doing her homework

james is growing some tomato vines up the columns

since no one is living in this room unit, Linda from Birthcare is holding a lactation class for new mothers 11.

4.

mon is taking thea for a walk in the park; jess and ben s son was keen to go along 11.

9.

it was decided that this room be used as a kids' play room

8.

11.

2.

DW

5.

11.

4.

3.

pip, fraser and kara have decided to set up an office in here since they work from home

DW

mischa left behind this big table as a gift to the community when she bought a house last year

jodi is making avocado sushi rolls for lulu and sofia

pj cycles to uni every day while olly looks after her 1 year old

10.

7.

nicky and guy are on dinner tonight; they're looking in the shared pantry for inspiration

5.

9.

2.

8.

6. pram parking

6.

7.

6.

5.

DW

9.

11.

lily sewed an entrance mat 8.

11. sarah is helping kate and mary make a cubby using davie's bed sheets and the curtains

3.

UP

10.

agnes is bathing her newborn in the sink

DW 7.

juliet is 8 months pregnant and has been getting tips from raukura about breast-feeding

alice and julian are looking at renting here once their child is born while they look for a house

9.

DW

8.

viv from plunket has come over to visit the new parents 10. floyd is helping his brother tom move in with his girlfriend and new baby

den

dry 11. mary stores her boating gear under the stairs 9.

str

8.

eet

gene and vee have brought around their twins to play with some of their friends that live here 10.

rupert is borrowing abbie s car to take his son to the doctor mary, tim and frankie like the extra bit at the back they get, which is where they entertain guests

10.

appendix 3: model on display at final presentation photo by Fritha Hobbs

160

appendix 4: entire presentation display photo by Fritha Hobbs

161

appendix 5: concept image for site layout image by Fritha Hobbs

162

ALL COLUMNS ARE CHS 114.3 X 4.5 SUPPORTING ROOF 5.5M ABOVE FLOOR LEVEL

APPROXIMATE PLACEMENT OF LOAD-BEARING WALLS

THESE ROOMS DO NOT REACH ROOF HEIGHT AND THEREFORE DO NOT SUPPORT ROOF. ONLY HIGHLIGHTED LOAD-BEARING WALLS AND CHS COLUMNS SUPPORT ROOF

UP

APPROX 30M

APPROX 16M

1:100 @ A3 UP

appendix 6: images used to discuss structure with engineer images by Fritha Hobbs and John Hawkins

163

appendix 7: design development models photos by Fritha Hobbs 164

appendix 8: design development sketches images by Fritha Hobbs 165

166

appendix 8: material research conducted early on

structure

cross-laminated timber (CLT)

= gth

len max

roof to wall

panel to panel

mid floor to walls

wall to wall (plan)

wall to ground floor

ground floor to sub floor

m

15.1

max width = 3.3 m

60-350mm

composition: cross-directional layers of radiata pine bonded with solvent and formaldehyde-free polyurethane adhesive panel width: up to 3300mm panel length: up to 15100mm thickness: 60mm - 350mm connections: engineered wood screws, metal brackets and plates finish: industrial (non visible) or architectural (visible e.g interior) grade services: plumbing/larger services between CLT and cladding (within cavity battens with insulation); electrical/smaller within thickness of CLT (vertical plank may be removed or vertical conduits created) manufacture and installation: prefabricated to specification in factory; transported to site; crane required for panel placement max floor span: based on 2kPa load, 200mm thick CLT = 5.60m single, 6.15m continuous max roof span: based on 0.4kPa load, 200mm thick CLT = 7.85m single, 11.30m continuous NZ suppliers: Xlam NZ

additional notes 1/ As yet there is no Standard for the manufacture of CLT in New Zealand; the given standards are in compliance with the ISO (International) Standard for CLT which it is anticipated NZ will adopt. There have been successful consent applications in NZ to date for CLT construction.

2/ screws can be countersunk or ‘plugged’ to provide fire rating to structural walls 3/ requires added acoustic and thermal insulation for floors, ceiling and roofs (cavity, insulation helps achieve this)

Materials palette 167

structure

concrete masonry block

r e s i d e nt i a l co n c r e te d e ta i l i n g a n d s p e c i f i c at i o n g u i d e r e s i d e nt i a l co n c r e te d e ta i l i n g a n d s p e c i f i c at i o n g u i d e r e s i d e nt i a l co n c r e te d e ta i l i n g a n d s p e c i f i c at i o n g u i d e

Roofing on Roofing building on paper building paper on wire netting Roofing on on wire netting building paper on wire netting

Timber trusses Timber trusses Timber trusses

Fascia Fascia Fascia Continuous timber plate Continuous timber plate on DPC on DPC Cast in bolt fixings Continuous timber plate Cast in bolt fixings on DPC External waterproofing Cast in bolt fixings External waterproofing system system External waterproofing system

WALL TO ROOF WALL TO ROOF WALL TO ROOF

10 series 90 x 190 x 390

15 series 140 x 190 x 390

suitable for most residential structural applications

External waterproofing External system waterproofing system °External acrylic plaster & paint waterproofing °system acrylic plaster & paint ° acrylic paint system acrylic paint plaster & paint ° acrylic system ° sand/cement plaster acrylic&paint °system sand/cement plaster paintsystem system & paint sand/cement plaster ° sealer °system sealer & paint Bond beam at floor ° sealer Bond level beam at floor level Bond beam at floor level

INTERMEDIATE FLOOR INTERMEDIATE FLOOR INTERMEDIATE FLOOR

100 100100 MIN MINMIN

25 series 240 x 190 x 390

150 150150 MIN MINMIN

20 series 190 x 190 x 390

15 series conc. masonry 15 series masonry vertical & conc. horizontal vertical & horizontal reinforcing per NZS 4229 15 series conc. masonry reinforcing per NZS 4229 vertical & horizontal reinforcing per NZS 4229 Waterproofing system Waterproofing extend min 50 system below extend min 50 below floor level Waterproofing system floor level extend min 50 below floor level Paved G.L. Paved G.L.

Ceiling lining on battens Ceiling lining on battens Ceiling lining on battens Bond beam in accordance Bond beam in accordance with NZS 4229 with NZS 4229 Bond beam in accordance with NZS 4229 15 series conc. masonry 15 series conc. masonry 15 series conc. masonry

Insulation Insulation MDF skirting Insulation MDF skirting Particle board flooring MDF skirting Particle board flooring Particle board flooring Bolt connection to bond Bolt to bond beamconnection per NZS 4229 beam per NZS 4229 Joist hanger Bolt connection to bond Joist beamhanger per NZS 4229 Joist hangerboundary joist on Continuous Continuous boundary joist on DPC DPC Continuous boundary joist on Internal linings on timber DPC linings on timber Internal strapping strapping Internal linings on timber strapping

Internal lining Internal lining Insulation Insulation Internal lining Building paper continuous

Building paper continuous Insulation Timber strapping Timber Buildingstrapping paper continuous 100 x 50 on DPC Timber 100 x 50strapping on DPC Reinforced concrete slab Reinforced slab 100 x 50 onconcrete DPC Reinforced concrete slab

G.L.G.L. Paved Unpaved Unpaved G.L.

ed G.L. 15 series conc. masonry Unpav 15 series conc. foundation wall.masonry foundation Starter barswall. at 15 series conc.

Starter bars at masonry required spacing. foundation wall. required spacing.

Starter bars at required spacing.

WALL TO FLOOR WALL TO FLOOR WALL TO FLOOR

DPC over 25mm sand DPC over 25mm sand blinding blinding DPC over 25mm sand Compacted granular blinding Compacted granular hardfill hardfill Compactedconcrete granular footing Reinforced hardfill Reinforced concrete footing Reinforced concrete footing

22 22

composition: block width: block length: block height: connections: finish:

22 concrete masonry block 90-290mm (140mm standard for residential) 390mm 190mm steel reinforcing, mortar plain/fair faced, honed, painted, plastered, textured (ie scored, grooved, split faced etc) services: within core of masonry block or within cavity on internal/external face manufacture and installation: standard modular blocks prefabricated; laid one by one on site with mortar and rebar NZ suppliers: Atlas Concrete, Viblock, Holcim, Celcrete, Aitkens, Mitchell Concrete (yet to find suppliers of screen systems)

NOTES 1/ concrete masonry blocks are easy to cut length-ways although the modular heights should be adhered to when designing (wall heights and openings etc) 2/ single-skin concrete masonry walls made with 15 series masonry blocks are adequate for most residential structural applications 3/ exposed finished suitable for dry, sunny or unused areas; mould can quickly form on concrete masonry which is not kept dry 4/ not adequately waterproof on its own Gjerde, M. (2000) Residential concrete detailing and specification guide. Ed. Thomas, G. and D. Cook. Wellington: Cement and Concrete Association of New Zealand

168

Materials palette

Internally insulated Internally insulated wall section wall section Internally insulated wall section

This wall section presents: This wall section presents: • single wythe 15 series concrete •This single wythe 15presents: series concrete wall section masonry masonry single wythe 15on series concrete •• building paper the inside face of • building paper on faceline of of masonry the masonry actingthe as inside a second masonry acting as inside a second defence against moisture penetration • the building paper on the faceline of of defence against moisture penetration the masonry second line of • strapping andacting liningas onathe interior • strapping and lining on thepenetration interior defence against moisture • insulation between strapping • insulation between strapping and liningstrapping on the interior • concrete masonry foundation wall • concrete insulation betweenfoundation strapping acting as masonry permanent formworkwall for acting as slab permanent formworkwall for on grade.

• concrete masonry foundation concrete slab on grade. acting as permanent formwork for concrete slab on grade.

These details separate the thermal mass These details separate thermal mass of the concrete masonrythe from the interior of the concrete masonry from the interior space.

It also allows thethe concrete These details separate thermal mass space.

It also allows the concrete masonry to be expressed as anthe interior of the concrete masonry from masonry be expressed as an architectural finish externally. space. It to also allows the concrete architectural finish externally. masonry to be expressed as an architectural finish externally.

PANEL PROFILES structure WALLS, CLADDINGS AND FACADES structural insulated panel

Interiors

Wall panels can be installed horizontally or vertically. Finished panels can be any combination of wall profile.

1

Satinline XFLAM Panel installed horizontally

Flat EPS Panel installed vertically – Titania

FLAT 1. Rib Profile 2. Mesa Profile 3. Flat Profile

RIBBED 2

3

Interior Walls & Ceiling Panel Profiles Panel Thicknesses /

All facade profiles are available in a standard width of 1200mm module. Variable panel widths between 600mm and 1200mm are available upon request (Subject to a minimum order quantity).

Standard thicknesses available range from 50mm to 250mm in multiples of 25mm

Panel Lengths /

EPS, MINERAL WOOL or XFLAM CORE

panel profile option

All panels are manufactured to length +/- 5mm, as determined by handling, design and transportation up to a maximum of 25 meters.

© ASKIN 2013 / www.askin.net.au

WIDTH 1200mm EFFECTIVE WIDTH 1200mm MicroEFFECTIVE Ribbed EPS, MINERAL WOOLWOOL or XFLAM CORE CORE EPS, MINERAL or XFLAM

EFFECTIVE WIDTH 1200mm

50-300mm

50-300mm

EFFECTIVE WIDTH 1200mm EPS, MINERAL WOOL or XFLAM CORE

SATINLINE – Microcorrugate 50-300mm 50-300mm

EPS, MINERAL WOOL or XFLAM CORE

EPS, MINERAL WOOL or XFLAM CORE

50-300mm

SHADOWLINEEFFECTIVE WIDTH 1200mm

EFFECTIVE WIDTH 1200mm

50-300mm

EFFECTIVE WIDTH 1200mm EPS, MINERAL WOOL or XFLAM CORE

50-300mm

Page 1 of 1

EFFECTIVE WIDTH 1200mm

Variable panel thicknesses are available upon request subject to minimum order quantity.

50-300mm

Panel Widths /

EPS, MINERAL WOOL or XFLAM CORE

slip joint panel connection

EFFECTIVE WIDTH 1200mm

50-300mm

50-300mm

EFFECTIVE WIDTH 1200mm EPS, MINERAL WOOL or XFLAM CORE

EPS, MINERAL WOOL or XFLAM CORE

composition: expanded polystyrene (EPS) sandwiched between resin-bonded oriental strand board (OSB), aluminium panels or other composite rigid board panel width: 1200mm panel length: thickness: 50-250mm (25mm increments) connections: slip joint with sealant finish: engineered composite timber, steel or aluminium skin (flat, ribbed, grooved etc) services: incorporated into panel depending on thickness (up to 60mm ok) manufacture and installation: prefabricated to specification in factory, installed on site max roof span: 0.5 kPa load, 200mm thick = 11.50m min roof pitch: 3º NZ suppliers: Bondor, MagRoc

NOTES 1/ more airtight and therefore better thermal/acoustic performance than tradtitional timber framed walls with insulation 2/ resins used to bond the OSB are often formaldehyde-based which is a carcinogen and can emit toxins when damp 3/ panels are structurally analogoust to an I-beam, allowing load-bearing construction and removing the need for framing 4/ EPS derives from petro-chemicals giving it a large level of embodied energy (McIntosh and Harrington) 5/ lower acoustics than CLT - require additional for certain rooms

169

Stud Building underlay

45

Š copyright 2010 Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts New Zealand

45

Stud Building wrap/Ecoply Barrier Cavity batten

Fasten sheets independently of each other

Bottom lap

Sheets to be fastened off independently of each other 9

Use temporary 9mm spacer

Fix clear of weather groove

9

Use temporary 9mm spacer 9mm gap at exterior face of sheets for Shadowclad Groove profile only

9mm gap at exterior face of sheets for Shadowclad Groove profile only

direct fixed to framing

fixed to battens for cavity

SC007 Shadowclad Groove Vertical Joint (Direct)

composition: panel width: panel length: thickness: connections: finish: manufacture and installation: max roof span: min roof pitch: NZ suppliers:

NOTES 1/ cavity fixing recommended 170

Disclaimer: This information is intended solely as a guide for use of Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts products. Before using Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts product you should ensure that the product and method of installation is suitable for use in your specific application.Nothing in this information constitutes a statement of fitness for particular purpose - appropriate expert advice should always be obtained.

cladding

1:2 formaldehyde resin layers of radiata pine veneers gluedscale with 1200mm 2440mm or 2740mm 12mm (5 ply) ideal for cladding direct fixed toShadowclad frame or over cavityVertical battens Groove Joint (Cavity) texture groove/shadow cladding (100-150mm apart expansion grooves) cut to size on site* 0.5 kPa load, 200mm thick = 11.50m 3Âş Plyman, Plywoodcity, Carter Holt Harvey 0

sc008_shad_vert_lapp_jnt_groove_c.dwg

20

40

80

100

All Dimensions are to be site checked before construction and installation

scale: date:

1:2

September 10

reference:

SC008

windows

aluminium framed bi-fold

4 pane bi-fold option

awning

casement

2 pane awning option

2 pane casement option

aluminium window flange profile

sectional plan through window profile

sectional through window

composition: window pane width: window pane height: thickness: connections: finish: services: manufacture and installation: NZ suppliers:

extruded aluminium, double glazed glass with thermal gass between panes 500mm 1050mm 20mm in conjunction with aluminium flashings aluminium or powder coated finish n/a prefabricated to spec in factory; installed on site or with CLT in factory Altherm, Vantage, First (APL), Atlantic Suite, Nulook

NOTES 1/ 171

172

appendix 9: supplementary drawings of the Bethany Centre images from Auckland City Council property file for 35 Dryden Street, Grey Lynn 173

appendix 10: additional photographs of the former Bethany Centre photos from private collection of Lyndley McEnteer 174

appendix 10: additional photographs of the former Bethany Centre photos from private collection of Lyndley McEnteer 175

appendix 11: site plan of 16 Turakina Street plan from private collection of Michael Morrissey 176

appendix 12: site plan of 11 Castlefield street plan from private collection of Sally Schwartz 178

180

Appendix 13 Interview with Major June Sunkel, retired Matron of Bethany Centre 1997-2008 Monday 25th March 2013.

Before the hospital wing closed in 1976, do you know if the centre offered birthing services to the public?

Yes private hospital from the time it opened in 1913, the way the salvation army funded the work. That closed in 1976 If so, do you know if there was a separation between the birthing centre for the public and the accommodation for the unmarried mothers?

In post natal aspect everybody was upstairs but there was one side of the corridor for the unmarried and the other for the married women. Downstairs in two dormitories was the expectant mums. From the 70s they had a separate building for the pregnant women. It was the old nursing home – opened only 2 years after the closure of the maternity ward. This is because they were no longer employing nurses. Only those who were 16 and over were living down there. Younger women in the main building so they could look after them closely. How was this separation manifested? (e.g wards on different levels etc) What was the level of privacy the residents experienced?

During the pregnant stage it was good – before I had the buildings altered around 1999 and then they had separate rooms for post natal as well. Ensuite was for only one bedroom upstairs – for the house mother. She was an employed person doing night shifts and they got that room.

Do you think they wished for more?

Never an issue. The only place it ever was – very spasmodic – when there were young girls under 16 sharing a room. They divided this with a temporary partition. They were fine about that accommodation. Since I went there there was never an issue of the kind of accommodation we were providing – the only issue was that there was not enough room for the post natal girls. The modern birthing centre has a toilet and shower for each post natal patient was only just coming in as the norm 10 years ago. Post natal and ante natal shared toilets and showers.

My work: trained as social worker (prev medical) so was the manager, not matron.

What were the decisions behind room allocation?

The nursing block “the brick villa” was for the pregnant girls over 16. It was just space availability – tried not to fill the room next to the showers. If too many girls, put in partitions. A woman with twins would get the house mother’s room.

Upstairs/downstairs? Large room/small room?

Ante natal rooms all the same size. Upstairs post natal which was divided into rooms were pretty much all the same size. Post natal nurse who worked 9-5 during the week – actually had a room which was a large cupboard. They turned this into an office.

181

Was there any rooms of flexible use or did they all have a certain purpose?

We had a room off the lounge downstairs and that was set up for putting computers in for girls to use but once we were so busy in post natal that we put a bed and a girl in there. She stayed longer than normal in post natal so she was put in there. You had to have somebody who was trust worthy down there. Classroom (separate bldg) only used for classes and meetings. Former nursing block as above.

Was there a shortage of any type of space?

Accommodation at times. I would have liked a space for the social work staff but we just did it the way it was.

Storage etc, reception, lounging?

Reception had just 4 seats within the entry area with one receptionist. Lounges in both places, 3 lounges. Downstiars in the main building for the under 16s, big one for upstairs post natal and one in the old nursing block.

What did you offer the women apart from accommodation? Education?

Education classes – if you were pregnant that was the only reason we took them. A lot of girls wanted to come just because they wanted accommodation. Education (ante natal) programme available to anybody in the community. There would be non-residential clients in there sometimes learning.

Help finding job?

Not something we did. We helped find accommodation – employed two full time social workers and that was part of their role. Etc How did you manage these above services with the other agencies involved?

We worked with CYF – the main agency. They often referred clients. Worked with agencies once girls were out in the community, kept on the books for 3 months to a year. Work and Income we worked with. The benefit was paid not to the client but to the Bethany Centre, which meant the most was made of their payments. The BC managed the girls’ finances. BC set up trust accounts for the girls. They would get grants up to $1000 each for accommodation and furniture which would go to the BC and they would apply on behalf of the girls.

Shared or did the services remain separate?

Combined Was participation in classes/education held at the centre compulsory?

Absolutely. That’s the reason we ran it. Girls would be excused for reasonable things – we weren’t unreasonable. Would try to work around medical appointments etc.

182

Was disciplinary action needed and how was it approached?

Was often needed! All girls signed a contract when they came in that spelled out the expectations of each other. There were times for being in, for eating breakfast. Would only come about when someone was staying out for the night (not allowed). They would ‘ground’ them for two days or so. Or sent to my office to have a talk. Sometimes they were granted leave – ie a tangi. However particularly post natal – they were there to learn how to look after their baby so staying out for a night was a risk. There was a points system to ‘earn their keep’. Boys staying over night were an issue. The Dryden lodge next door had some very unsavoury clients. The doors were locked at 10pm which only stopped people getting in, but the girls could get out and sometimes they did – the ante natal ones. Post natal, after we did the ‘99 alterations, we put in an alarm system, which the house mother would turn on. There wasn’t one in the nursing block. In terms of security we had a direct internal line in case of alarm and a good relationship with the police.

Were the residents allowed visitors and were there any restrictions around this?

Definitley allowed visitors. Not during meal time. Had to be gone by lock up. Weekends they more or less had pre arranged visitors. They all had to sign in, as we were operating on health and safety guidelines. Post natal had more restricitons – afternoon and evening times. Ante natal girls outside programme/education hours. They could go off if they wanted, just sign out and sign in. We did have a mother of one of the ante natals who would come to stay over night – that was pre arranged. No other that we knew about – although a boy was found fast asleep in one of the bedrooms. In that case the girl would be lucky to remain there. It wasn’t just a breaking of a rule, it was a risk factor for everyone in the bldg.

Were there protocols on going into residents’ and staff bed rooms – were there places anyone couldn’t go?

Couldn’t go into staff offices and of course were not allowed into the house mother’s room, but that would be locked during the day anyway. Only on a courtesy role were they able to go into each others’s room.

Did the residents want to stay longer than was intended?

Yes. Mainly nowhere suitable to go.

What was the reason for the prescribed duration of their stay? Ie 20 weeks pregnant until 3 months post birth.

3 months was plenty of time for most people, were just using it for convenience. Some needed care for longer time – unusual to deny them something, if it wasn’t available at BC we would find them emergency housing. For some where we were concerned about the wellbeing/care of the child or the woman we would refer them (back to) the Anglican Trust for Women and Children Did the residents want to be at the Bethany Centre?

Most of them did. Some of the CYF didn’t. If they weren’t there however they were going to go to a lock up facility.

183

Did the residents have anywhere to go after they left?

We never ever sent them away if they had nowhere to go unless they breached rules – brought alcohol on the property, boys to stay etc – then they had 24hrs to leave. We would make sure they had somewhere to go but wouldn’t put a lot of effort into where it was.

Can you tell me about the short term fostering care you are offering for new born babies? Adoption/CYFs case? Etc I do newborn foster care for the adoption unit at CYF. Doesn’t mean the babies WILL be adopted but that the parent(s) are not sure what they will do with the baby.

Do you think there is a need for maternity care and accommodation in the months following childbirth in Auckland?

Well I’m out of Acukland now but I would say definatly. We had quite extensive plans to build when I was there. That was however when we did the budget and saw we did not have the money.

The buildings we had – 90 and 40 years old – were not appropriate. We were hoping to build more appropriate modern purpose built places. For women who we felt didn’t /weren’t ready to be out on their own with a baby – an individual flat etc. Possibility of having the baby removed from them etc. You need a long time for a young woman to learn habits that they should have learned when they were growing up, safety, security and commitment. Open up the post natal unit to young women who weren’t in trouble with the law or parenting agencies, yet need somewhere to go. Perhaps they didn’t need the Salvation Army’s total services but needed somewhere safe and longer term. When they were living with us everything was done for them in terms of bills, shopping, cooking etc. We wanted somewhere for the girls to go who were under light supervision but needed time to establish themselves and set up a good environment – they were a tenant of ours so that when the time came to move out they had a good record of tenancy. The supervision would be a person on duty for the day simply popping in and saying what are you having for dinner tonight?

How are you going with money? If you were out in the community you might be evicted, so there would be a lot more leniency – a mid way throught the post natal care and the real community.

We were quite far into the planning – had plans drawn up, had consultants on site, measuring etc. Didn’t go out for tender. Those plans will be in the administrative archives down in Wellington.

Were fathers invited to see their babies at the Bethany Centre, presumably at the discretion of the mother?

Yes they could come in and visit. They could go out with the mum and child. Was quite common that they would turn up right on time for visiting hours. Quite often the mother and father were still in relationship. We encouraged them to come in for couple programmes in the evening but it didn’t often work out! When we say ‘partner’ however they often weren’t reliable or maturely supportive.

184

Did you have any residents during the years of your service who were mothers without social difficulties?

I think we did have some who did decide they wanted to come in or whose parents asked them to come in. The girls who were from, shall we say a functioning background, often when they came in they wouldn’t stay long, because of the other clients. A group of mothering teenagers isn’t often a group of congenial people!

Were there any significant changes to the Bethany Centre – its use or the building itself – in the time that you were there?

Yes we altered the brick building – it was on a slope, and at one end there was a basement/rec room. I put two functioning/domestic kitchens in there – not closed off, but with benches, storage, stove, microwaves etc. So that we could teach cooking on a domestic scale.

Did the newborn babies sleep in the rooms with the mothers or did they stay in the nursery?

In the rooms with the mothers. Occasionally a house mother would have the baby in her room if the mother was having trouble sleeping with it in her room. The original nursery became the girls’ lounge. When I arrived it was still there but wasn’t being used as a nursery, just a makeshift lounge. We kept the main bathing unit in the old nursery so that it could still be used.

Were any events held at Bethany Centre, did it offer services to people outside of the centre? Classes etc Didn’t do any fundraising events there but we did have open days. We had an open day the day we opened the alterations. Old patients came along etc.

Was the nursing block in use during your service? How many nurses stayed on site at one time, and was there anything lacking/redundant in the block?

When I was there, one person was there overnight – don’t know before that.

Ground floor tiny bedroom – what was this for?

Comptuters/emergency bedroom. It is extremely expensive to run a place with staff 24 hours.

The DHB had no understanding as to why the women needed to stay for 3 months after their birthing. See them through the meals at the beginning of the day, end of the day etc. It seems very controlling but we just wanted to get the girls into routines. Not the same for everybody either.

We envisaged for the flats to be very basic, minimal furniture so that they were encouraged to buy their own, and when it came to moving out they had their own. v

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Appendix 14 Interview with Justine White, former resident of the Bethany Centre 1990-1991 Saturday 22th August 2013.

Eunice was the one who began the open adoption arrangement. The Salvation Army did so much for me so I’m happy to help them back in any way.

Did you give birth at the Bethany Centre? If so, in what year did you give birth at the BC? 1990 February until birth 31st October then stayed until Jan 1991 when I got my first full time job, which SA helped me get as well. I was quite lucky, they normally didn’t take girls until they were 6 months pregnant. I went from 23 weeks because I didn’t have anywhere else. I was actually considered an old girl (18). There were three over 18, we didn’t stay in the dorms in the main house we stayed in the nurses quarters, had our own lounge, kitchen areas etc. We weren’t supervised like the younger girls were.

How long before your birth and after your birth were you there? ( as above) What were the circumstances around which you were staying at the Bethany Centre?

When I got pregnant I was living in Morrinsville with a family helping around their house for work. Left home when I was 15 – not good circumstances – father remarried, relationship with him and his new wife not good etc. Courts helped me to find a private boarding situation.

Through them I moved in with a woman who was pregnant with her second child and helped her out. Met a guy, got pregnant. It didn’t feel right I didn’t feel ready etc. Asked around for counseling options. Abortion was suggested, other options weren’t offered. I wanted to know other options. Everything was very much around luck and being in the right place, talking with the right people. Was offered a trip with a counseller if I wanted to go up and visit the BC. Went up, when I walked in Eunice gave me a hug, told me what the place was about and before I left I was asking when I could move in.

What was the support like for you there – from staff and from others staying there?

The house mums – Heather , Lorna, absolutely lovely. In the 60s and still madly in love with her husband. Everything they talked about was about love. Cookie, looked like a troll – warts and all – she was amazing, taught me how to cook properly, how to cater. Then there was the accountant, she was lovely. And of course Major Eunice, a little lady, so lovely. It felt like home, like home should be. There was no negative part of it, no recriminations that you get from your family. And that’s what it was supposed to be, for girls that couldn’t be at home – families that didn’t approve. There were 14, 15 year old girls there. There were classes for girls to continue their education, other classes etc, all free. The religious aspect was never shoved down your throat, there was a prayer before meals but it wasn’t imposed. Everyone taught the responsibilities of keeping clean and tidy etc. A lot of the girls from drug/abuse backgrounds, I was lucky – I had a solid Christian upbringing but most girls didn’t even know the difference between right and wrong.

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Fellow residents?

Made some good friends, because we were all in the same position I suppose. Everybody was waiting. I don’t make friends easy, I’m very much an island but the people that touched the island in my life I do have fond memories of them. I got close to one 15 year old girl but we haven’t kept in touch. We all worked together. I didn’t see any fractures or bad feelings between girls but I’m sure they were there, I mean that’s life. Bethany just made sense because there was another way.

I still took me about 6 months to make up my mind about adoption, I was changing my mind every week. Josh almost didn’t go to the Goodmans. When you’re ready to give birth, at full term, you’re given a list of what you want in parents for your children. Religious, financial etc.

A Bethany Baby.

Did you make any friends during your stay? (as above) Were you happy to be there?

Yes. Definitely. There was never a moment of doubt that I was not where I should have been at that time.

Were other women at the BC at the time happy to be there or was it a last resort?

I think for a lot of them there was nowhere else to be. After I’d had Josh there was one girl who was very much addicted to drugs, I feel like she might have been a prostitute too but it was never spoken about, she had to be there. She ran away a lot. It was never done with any malice, no strict bonds. There were rules, but I got a feeling she had to be there. The alternative was worse.

When they got there, it’s as though they felt they should be there. It was full of life, love, laughter, teaching.

Where did you spend most of your time in the house?

Probably in the crafts room and in the kitchen. I learned to do knitting and needlework from my grandmother. It was a nice, calm place to be. I vomited a lot. Gardening was good too. It wasn’t really something they offered I just asked. Cooking too, I helped cookie. These were things I was raised to do. I come from a Brethren family. All the daughters taught the skills to look after the men.

Did the residents socialize much?

Yeah most evenings - upstairs in the main house there was a lounge with a TV and there was a TV in the lounge in the nurse’s quarters. We’d have dinner in the main house and then just go and hang out. Three times a week there were events in the evenings. We were all encouraged to keep diaries through our pregnancy. I think the younger girls did more socializing because they were all in dorms. I generally socialized with the older girls. There was no going out or anything.

On Friday we could do aquarobics. My sister lived up the road with her partner so I stayed with them on the weekends so I did have a break I suppose. Her partner had a large family so there was always his family stuff to do and I was always invited along to that. I was a bit lucky I suppose I had an outside life.

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What were meal times like? During pregnancy?

Very regimented. Same time every day, same routine. Breakfast lunch dinner always vitamins, iron pills etc for the pregnant women to have. We all ate together including the house staff. It was a family meal – just a very large family! Everybody was rostered on to do certain chores.

Good because you knew where you were, you know.

When baby was with you?

With the baby the same. Babies went into the shared nursery during dinner.

Babies in the nursery during the day. You could take the baby out on an outing but you could never leave the baby there. You were taught to be responsible for the baby the moment it came out of you. All things provided – nappies, toys etc – but your responsibility to look after.

Did you find it a strict place or was it relaxed in your opinion? Did you ever get in trouble for doing something?

It wasn’t relaxed and I suppose it was strict – but I grew up in that environment. I suppose a lot of the girls found that dictator-ish. I heard the grumblings when the girls had to do chores, tasks etc but I understood why it was we were being told to do these things. I was older I guess. I saw my being there a privilege rather than a right. There were issues when girls weren’t pulling their weight, but it was usually dealt with in a group.

Where might you have gone today if you were in a similar situation?

Today- um, yeah. I – It’s really not something I’d like to think about. I think I’d probably end up with a baby for the rest of my life, if there was no Bethany. Either that or abortion. That’s not what I was about though. I was really sad when I found it was closing. Even moreso today than before, they are incredibly important. To educate as well – so important. And for the adoption services. The social welfare system is just not geared up to be that personal. The Salvation Army filled that gap there was so much love and care. It wasn’t a borstal, a home where they shoved naughty kids. It was a home in the true sense of the word. It is such a shame that government funding was reduced so much that they couldn’t keep it going. I don’t think today women have the support with the adoption process today. SA never kept anything from us, all sides of the court were laid on the table, because they had no other motive.

Did you take part in educational classes offered? Did you find this helpful?

Didn’t need to, I’d already gone through 7th form. One girl did and went through and passed her school C. BC helped people with anything they wanted to know.

Did you receive visitors during your stay, and where did you spend time with your visitors?

Yep, family. They had a room where you could meet and receive. If they were important guests you could use the matron’s office. You could see them upstairs in the lounge if it wasn’t being used. After Josh was born in most of the evenings my sister would come down and we’d just have a couple of hours in the nursery. Or anywhere, really. Nowhere was really off bounds.

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Did you ever get sick of the place and want to leave?

No. In fact I’m surprised. They probably only allowed me to stay on long after Josh was gone because I did a lot. I helped a lot with the chores etc. And I was looking constantly for the right job. Most of the girls didn’t stay long after the baby was adopted they went back to their other lives. But I felt I wanted to start a new life. I wanted to do more with my life and now that I’d made the decision to give up Josh to do that, I had to do that.

Where did you go if you needed time out?

Go for a walk. Or up to the shops, or my sister’s, or the library. I used to go there quite a bit.

Did you find being around other women in a similar situation helpful?

Yeah. There are things that happen to your body when you’re pregnant that others experience or don’t experience – it’s good to talk to other women that are pregnant, you can share the experience.

Same for after baby born?

Yeh – having those older girls who had their children before me was good, to see what it was about and that it (the adoption process) wasn’t awful and dark.

Have you kept in touch with women you met at the Bethany Centre?

No.

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Appendix 15 Interview with Tala Fitiao Brinsdon, Administration Manager at Birthcare Auckland Ltd 12th Marth 2013 When did Birthcare open and is it the only facility of its kind?

Auckland Birthcare opened in 1955 on Gillies Ave. It is privately owned but ADHB contract provide for government subsidies. Roy Young (director) personally funds third night free for visitors (check this?). Only visitors from select hospitals and who are NZ residents are entitled to these three nights free. Other facilities Tala knows of are in Warkworth, Botany Downs, Helensville. Doesn’t know of any facility which does what the old Bethany Centre was providing.

What amenities are available?

Main facilities are the rooms (3 types available – standard/shared, private, premium), family lounges, tea/pantry rooms, reception, ante-natal clinic(new), education room, lactation clinic, 4 delivery rooms (3 with birthing pools), post-natal spa Common requests from occupants?

Dietary mostly. Linen, vases, breast pumps, towels, extra nappies, change of room, change of bed (to window facing bed). A strange but occasional question is whether there is a nursery to put the baby after birth!

Any spaces/amenities under used/don’t work/need improvements?

‘Procedure room’ used to be for jaundiced babies who needed to be under artificial light but now the light is brought to the mother and baby’s room so it occasionally gets used by a paediatrician when seeing patients. An ante-natal clinic has been added upstairs which can be hired by private LMC (lead maternity carer)s to bring their patients, also being used for BCG vaccinations.

Other nurses/midwives had various concerns: rooms lacking light (offices, education/meeting rooms etc), not enough storage space, standard and private rooms too small, delivery suite without the pool not used for birthing much (almost all women require the birthing pool to be ready for use), women should always have their own room.

Many partners/relatives stay?

Very common for partners to stay. Only one adult allowed, not restricted to partner but has to be over 16 years old.

What is the physical/mental capacity of the women at the end of their stay?

Rested, walking often. Tala noticed different nationalities having different tendencies, with Asian women often leaving after just one or two nights’ stay, but in a wheelchair. Often the woman looks completely indifferent “as if they’ve just been playing netball or something”!

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Difference in short/long term stay rooms?

No difference, often stay in whichever room they’ve been in because they can’t be bothered to move!

Often say they don’t want to leave when it is time to go home.

What kinds of visitors come during the stay? Doctors, relatives, assessors etc Relatives, colleagues, ministers, case workers, obstetrician, paediatrician, people performing tongue tie surgery (cleft lip?) if needed.

What procedures are undertaken for hygiene and safety reasons?

No under 16s may stay over with the mothers. Sanitary hand washes in every room and bathroom. Cleaned every day. Laundry contracted to APL. Signs about not spreading sicknesses.

Recommendations that sick people do not visit (but they may if the mother is OK with it) .

Any women you know of that don’t have anywhere to go after?

Used to have quite a few Bethany Centre patients – Corally the matron would come and pick them up after their stay. LMCs do questioning/screening of patients so they know the personal details of them.

How do you ensure privacy yet constant support?

Visitors are screened if requested (I.e. some patients will request that certain people do not visit.

In this case there is a symbol the nurses use by the patient’s name indicating so, and the visitor is screened.) This is often the case with celebrity parents. Rooms have doors, curtain behind (like a hospital) to ensure privacy from passers-by. Delivery rooms are on the ground floor and are sound proof. Some accommodation rooms are downstairs also, so there would be the chance that people could hear screaming (?) if the door to the delivery room had to be opened. Nurses/midwives carry around devices connected to their patients’ rooms for constant contact, women don’t have to leave room if they don’t want to.

Classes, facilities for new parents?

Education clinic on ground floor holds classes.

Dealing with post-natal depression?

LMCs deal with this as they do not often stay long enough to manifest symptoms.

Other comments -

Women make a plan with the LMC/midwife which involves when and where they will

go for birthing and care. Most commonly women to give birth at Birthcare arrive at 6cm

dialation.

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No drugs, caesareans, doctors on site at BC.

-

Cater to religions through food choices.

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Appendix 16 Interview with Major Graham Rattray, current Operations Manager for Supportive Accommodation at The Salvation Army 21st March 2013 Where are the types of residents who were accommodated at Bethany Centre going now?

CYFs cases are being referred to other agencies in and around Auckland which have local community bases. Teen Parenting Unit (based in Henderson) is taking on many and the DHB Mental Health unit have absorbed some (numbers were small, so this was manageable). Some of their residents were from out of town, and they have been encouraged to go to local/community care closer to their home.

Why were some coming from out of town when they had local care available?

Historically the stigma attached to being a young, unmarried mother urged women to move away from their home but that stigma no longer exists and the reason was often historic – they’d had other family members stay at the Bethany Centre. Some had just heard about it and wanted to go there.

Were there self-referred residents accommodated at the Bethany Centre who were unfunded?

The self-referred cases were usually funded. If they weren’t funded by CYF they had funding from elsewhere, although it often wasn’t much so this increased costs for the Bethany Centre, contributing to its closure. There is also little funding for the father to be connected with the child, which is something the Salvation Army are trying to encourage.

Is there much funding at other agencies for fathers’ connection with their children?

This is something the Teen Parenting Unit are working on. Salvation Army are looking at setting up support in the form of ‘transitional housing’ at Epsom Lodge – it is currently being developed for homeless people. I think transitional housing needs to exist for all sorts of people in difficult stages of their lives, and I think there should be some sort of village set up to accommodate this – for people that have just come out of prison, single parents raising children, homeless people etc. so that they have help being integrated back into society.

Do you think a village is the best idea? What about the negative consequences we have seen from grouping troubled and/or extremely poor members of society together?

I think they need to be in ‘packages’, in small clusters rather than spread all throughout the city.

This might help them feel connected to their neighbours, and they can feel a sense of being part of a group which is being integrated back into society, rather than feel isolated.

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