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Your home of colour Warm tones, retro feels, coming-into-summer vibes, take these colour cues for the new season.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Biscuit in Resene Ecstasy; mug in Resene Tuscany; feather in Resene Daredevil; ball in Resene Rusty Nail; notebook in Resene Hairy Heath; background in Resene Moroccan Spice.

R E N O VAT I O N S P E C I A L

M A KE IT YOU R OW N Reworking four homes and a 1980s warehouse

Richard Naish draws on shared family memories

HOME Tour: Queenstown and Christchurch

Architecture for sale: mid-century classics

OUTDOOR SPECIAL Decks, pools and gardens that take the inside out

KITCHEN PERFECTION INTRODUCING INTEGRATED COLUMN REFRIGERATION

fisherpaykel.com

ecc.co.nz

Minotti

West seating system

Contents

82

Make it yours 82.

Sunny side up Pac Studio employs light and fun with a clever use of materials for a bungalow extension in suburban Auckland 92.

92

106

Step into the light Four mid-century enthusiasts resurrect an original design by Allan Mitchener in Ilam, Christchurch 106.

Rock and a hard place Henri Sayes floats a new apartment on top of an old concrete commercial building in Parnell, Auckland 118.

Age of enlightenment Sixteen years on, Daniel Marshall reworks an early design in Remuera, Auckland, with a fresh new perspective 132.

Stretch and grow Rich Naish of RTA taps into family heritage to extend a character cottage for his cousin in Christchurch

118

132

Contents

Design

Outdoors

20.

66.

24.

72.

26.

76.

Project Jose Gutierrez responds to a brief for a sunken lounge On the rise Daily Bread proves its worth in a temporary space Foot traffic Allbirds slips into Auckland’s Britomart with a new store

Pou pavilion Suzanne Turley Landscapes works with a Ron Sang classic Green rooms Xanthe White Design creates a series of garden spaces Resort life Andrew Meiring cleverly forms connections and a tropical retreat

28.

39

European union An Italian brand partners up to offer the best in European design

Filter

30.

149.

Serene scene Kowtow’s new store by Rufus Knight is calm and connected

Home of the Year 2020 Call for entries for our 25th architecture award

32.

150.

People’s republic An Australian furniture brand opens in Newmarket, Auckland

Home Tour 2019 On tour in Central Otago, Christchurch and Auckland

34.

156.

In the throes Segue into spring with style

Reading room Architecture books in review

36.

158.

Great goods Desirable designs 36.

A beautiful thing Dedon weaves its magic 38.

56

Life in colour Interior trends distilled 39.

Animate objects Chairs with personality 42.

In profile Landscape architect Andy Hamilton 44.

In transit Bi-directional charging bolsters EV uptake 46.

Real estate for sale Three mid-century gems 50.

Destination Beirut, Lebanon 56.

162

Case studies An artistic collaboration explores our botanical history

Design Denmark A new exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki 160.

Be my guest Judy Millar’s personal reflection on the Colin McCahon legacy 162.

My favourite building James Warren of Upoko Architects falls for a Wellington building with a patchy past

Let there be light Afford yourself some space to unwind from the turmoil of the working week.

Senja has a lightness of touch that offers a luxurious sophistication and a timelessness that seems effortless and compelling.

DAW S O N & C O .

A dusty yellow with the merest hint of orange makes an excellent backdrop for our stories on spaces, products and furniture.

HOMES

DESIGN

RESENE BARLEY WHITE

R ES E N E E D G E WAT E R A fresh green that denotes both renewal and calm celebrates the reworked homes in this issue, as well as the arrival of spring.

This issue, the magazine’s designers chose colours from the Resene palette, a seasonal mix of pale yellow, soothing green and sea green.

OUTDOORS

19

65

In each issue, HOME uses full-page, solid blocks of colour that help you find your way through different sections of the magazine.

81

Resene Your home of colour

R ES E N E ATO L L Atoll, a strong sea green, makes a compelling companion to three beautiful outdoor spaces.

Photograph Jackie Meiring

How to make a home As we sent this magazine to press, we also put our house on the market. It probably wasn’t the wisest timing. The triple pressures of getting the place ready for photo shoots and open homes – at the same time as making a magazine – made me, um, reasonably stressed, so I must thank my little HOME team for their humour under pressure during a particularly tight week.

It did give me an insight into what some of our home owners go through in the process of their homes appearing in this magazine. Even though we renovated our house a couple of years ago with architect Megan Edwards, we’ve spent the winter tidying it up and finishing dozens of tiny jobs that never quite got done – and painting over what can only be described as a toddler ‘tide line’ around the place.

We often take for granted the enormous effort that goes into getting houses ready for photographing – and we also forget that the owners really have little to gain. The architects get to talk about them, we get to write about them and you get to read about them. The owners get to clean them, clear their kids’ crap out of the living room, and then disappear for a day while people take photos of their house. So, before I go any further, a big thank you to them.

We’d been so busy with the house that we hadn’t really noticed the arrival of spring, and our photographer Sam Hartnett was the first visitor we’d had in a couple of weeks. Towards the end of the day, we lit the outdoor fire on our sheltered back deck for the photos – so atmospheric! – and, finally, we stopped and opened a bottle of wine by the fire as night fell.

Just then, I was reminded of the joys of renovating and I must admit to feeling a little sad about selling. The process might be painful, but the result is so personal, so uniquely your own – and it also carries the memory of how it used to be. There is skill in taking something that exists, reworking it, and making it feel like it has only ever been that way. And that’s why we’re celebrating renovations in this issue. I hope you enjoy them. — Simon Farrell-Green

FIND US ONLINE

homemagazine.co.nz @homenewzealand facebook.com/homenewzealand

Entries are now open to our 25th Home of the Year awards, brought to you in association with Altherm Window Systems. Launched in 1996, the award has become the country’s most prestigious for residential architecture, with a prize valued at $15,000. In 2020, we’ll be judging the awards with Melbourne’s Patrick Kennedy and Rachel Nolan of Kennedy Nolan, and our 2019 winner, Jack McKinney. Entries close at 5pm on Monday 9 December, 2019 – turn to p. 149 for more.

In the meantime, we’d love you to join us on HOME Tour in Central Otago, Christchurch and Auckland over the next couple of months for a line-up of terrific houses. The first tour, in Wellington, went very well – thank you to our friends at Fisher & Paykel, and to our official vehicle partner The Mercedes-Benz X-Class for their support. Turn to p. 150 for more information.

Contributors Julie Hill

The Auckland-based journalist and fiction writer enjoyed over-egging the puns in a home extension story, p. 86.

You’re a multi-talented writer – what’s it like working in this field in New Zealand?

Thanks. I write fiction – short stories and plays – as well as journalism and it’s nice to move between made-up and not-made-up stuff. There’s less difference between them than you would think – a good yarn is a good yarn after all. Against the odds, I think both literature and journalism are in pretty decent shape right now.

What did you enjoy most about the house by Pac Studio? An affordable yet adventurous design is not something everyone can pull off, but Yolk House is a delight: a lovely surprise that pops out once you reach the back of the house. I’m a sucker for yellow, too: give a kid some crayons and they’ll reach for the yellow one and draw you the sun.

What projects are you currently working on? I’ve been interviewing so-called ‘501’ detainees for a text to go with an exhibition by the incredible artist Cushla Donaldson, for an upcoming group show called The Shouting Valley. An amendment to Section 501 of the Australian immigration act allows migrants – including New Zealanders – to be deported if they’re considered a risk to Australian society. It’s a shocking situation and one more of us should care about.

Simon Devitt

The photographer on his own new off-grid home and the home he photographed

by Daniel Marshall, p. 72.

You’re designing a new home for yourself in Waiuku. Tell us about it. I have 12 rural acres – there’s a barn/stables and the old farm house, which is slowly being made better and more livable. The land is beautiful, with eight paddocks graced by six majestic cows: five Belted Galloways (Olive, Helga, Flora, Mary and Florence), and a frisky Friesian called Cecilia, plus my Irish terrier Kingi. The New Zealand rural building vernacular has always fascinated me and now I get to reference it with a design for a small off-grid abode I’m working on with the talented Jonathan Smith at Matter Architects.

Already, I’m dreaming about waking up looking out to the orchard in one direction and a cow popping its head through the ‘cow fence’ (all will be revealed) in the other.

The focus of your practice is architecture. What are your thoughts on New Zealand architecture? I have deep admiration for the architects I work with. Their tenacity, talent and the way they’re able to choreograph so many guide

ropes on such detailed projects is astounding to me. It’s a real privilege and gives me so much joy to be asked to be the eyes on their work.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

I’m currently working on the third book in my Ripe Fruit publication series, due for launch early/mid next year.

And I’m working on a project that involves collaborating with a dozen or so New Zealand architects – I’m very excited about this. Watch this space.

Tell us about the house you photographed. It’s by Daniel Marshall, a revitalised classic he first designed earlier in his career, so I was pretty excited to see what he’d come up with.

The shoot took place on an overcast day, which threw a lovely soft light over the house.

Dan’s work is so sculptural and absorbs a really gorgeous light quality. Other than being hypnotised by his work, my main memory of the shoot is how in love his clients are with their home; it was really touching to see.

Be inspired.

peterfell.co.nz 0800 4 A COLOUR

Make it yours !

USM brings simplicity to your life: clear structures, sustainable design – creating a pure space.

www.usm.com Available at ECC – ecc.co.nz Auckland 39 Nugent St. Grafton 1023, 09 379 9680 Wellington 61 Thorndon Quay, Pipitea 6021, 04 473 3456 info@ecc.co.nz

Editor Simon Farrell-Green Deputy Editor Jo Bates Art Director Arch MacDonnell Inhouse Design Senior Designer/Stylist Sara Black Designer Alex Turner Inhouse Design

On the cover Ira Paterson and Felix Smith enjoy the deck of the ‘Yolk’ house designed by Sarosh Mulla and Aaron Paterson of Pac Studio. Photography by David Straight; styling by Sara Black; art direction by Toby Curnow and Alex Turner.

For more, turn to p. 82.

Digital Editor Lakshmi Krishnasamy Digital Producers Bea Taylor Olivia Day Video Editor Lana Byrne Editorial Office Bauer Media Group Shed 12, City Works Depot 90 Wellesley Street Auckland, New Zealand homenewzealand@ bauermedia.co.nz +64 9 308 2700

Contributors Susanne Baldwin Toby Curnow Jenny Farrell Julie Hill Felicity Jones Sjoerd Langeveld Claire McCall Judy Millar Alex Scott Jiho Yun Photographers Simon Devitt Sam Hartnett Russell Kleyn Jackie Meiring Toaki Okano Patrick Reynolds Mark Smith David Straight Simon Wilson Neeve Woodward Postal address HOME New Zealand Bauer Media Group Private Bag 92512 Wellesley Street Auckland 1141 New Zealand

Chief Executive Officer Brendon Hill Managing Director Tanya Walshe General Manager – Publishing Stuart Dick Editorial Director Ben Fahy Commercial Director Kaylene Hurley Head of Digital Anne Chen Group Sales Director – Directs/Australia Rachel McLean Head of Brand – Commercial Anna Magasiva Commercial Brand Manager Nat Davis ndavis@bauermedia.co.nz Assistant Commercial Brand Manager Alexandra Cuadros acuadros@bauermedia.co.nz Advertising Account Manager Nicola Saunders nsaunders@bauermedia.co.nz +64 9 366 5345 Advertising Co-ordinator Greer Wilkinson gwilkinson@bauermedia.co.nz Classified Advertising Kim Chapman classifieds@xtra.co.nz +64 7 578 3646 Publisher Analyst Johanne Kendall

Marketing & Circulation Manager Martine Skinner Brand & Communications Manager Katie Ward Production Co-ordinator Lorne Kay Printer Webstar Distributor Gordon & Gotch

HOME is subject to copyright in its entirety and the contents may not be reproduced in any form, either in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved in material accepted for publication, unless initially specified otherwise. All letters and other material forwarded to the magazine will be assumed intended for publication unless clearly labeled “not for publication”. We welcome submissions of homes that architects or owners would like to be considered for publication.

Opinions expressed in HOME New Zealand are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of Bauer Media Group. No responsibility is accepted for unsolicited material. ABC average net circulation, April 17 – March 18: 12,026 copies. ISSN 1178-4148.

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THINK

AHEAD

OUTDOOR GARDEN ALL-WEATHER COLLECTION

0800 ARTWOOD | artwood.nz Showroom at 36 Pollen Street, Ponsonby

Blackboard – from the luxurious, high quality collection of European tiles, now available at Artisan.

Mount Eden, Auckland artisancollective.co.nz/tiles

Photograph David Straight

Find us online.

Like what you’re seeing in the magazine?

Find us online for daily inspiration and New Zealand’s best homes.

H O M E M AG A Z I N E.C O.N Z @HOMENEWZEALAND FAC E B O O K .C O M / H O M E N E W Z E A L A N D H O M E M AG A Z I N E.C O.N Z/S I G N U P

New opening

24

In store

26

Briefing

28

Retail

30

Interiors

32

Five of the best

34

Products

36

A beautiful thing

36

Colour

38

The set up

39

In profile

42

In transit

44

Architecture for sale

46

Destination

50

DESIGN

20

R ES E N E B A R L E Y W H I T E

Project

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H O M E N E W ZE AL AN D

D:01 PROJECT

Family circle

Jose Gutierrez responds to a call for a sunken lounge with a clever design that fits the needs of a young family and their friends.

Justin Mowday— Before the house was renovated, if you were at home during the day you had to have the lights on in every room. Soph, who was pregnant at the time, wanted lots of natural light and for it to feel open.

Sophie Mowday— We originally said to Jose we wanted lots of natural light and high ceilings because we had been living with the opposite. But there was always the risk of having a big cavernous space.

Left— The original Victorian villa was built in the 1890s and called ‘Winterfall House’.

Opposite— The ‘Stovax Studio 2’ wood fire is from The Fireplace. The built-in sofa is by John Mihaljevich for Finewood.

The stencil of Willie Apiata is by Component.

Below— Natural light is carefully controlled in the new extension, where Ruby stands in the living area.

Justin— I wanted to be open to Jose’s ideas, was desperate to be a good client, and not chop and change our minds – all the things that can be hard to deal with.

During the process, every time we were unsure about something and made a suggestion, they’d come back to us with a way better idea, something we couldn’t think of ourselves.

Jose Gutierrez— The idea was to create a bigger living space, but the last thing you want to do is create a generic, open-plan warehouse. Our response was to almost bring the architecture inside – the intention of the cedar insertion is to carve out spaces, break up the volume and make it more interesting. As you walk through, you get an experience – you see through the hallway, you are drawn into the living area and sit down to look back through the picture window to the garden. Light streams through the glazing and cedar battens above, which plays with the solidity. Without it being all about that intervention, it does make for a more interesting place to live, in a subtle way.

Justin— One of the really great things is the graphic lines of light that come through the battens and into the sunken lounge – I had always wanted one and we put it on the list at the beginning.

Jose— Our thinking was to include the sunken lounge in the bigger picture, rather than make it a token gesture. I think we’ve achieved that – the way the family uses it ticks a lot of boxes.

H O M E N E W ZE AL AN D

21

Justin— On a winter’s evening, it’s where you want to be. It draws you in.

It’s only two steps down into the lounge but it instantly feels like a good place to be. Dalia, our two-year-old, loves it down there.

Jose— The kitchen is a piece of art but works functionally so it’s very real in that sense. There are big dimensions in quite a small space – the kitchen bench is more than five metres but it doesn’t feel out of scale.

Sophie— It has ended up being a bit of a baby pit, which is not what Justin intended. If my friends with babies or toddlers come over, they are all in there playing.

Justin— The proportions work so well for us as a family, all four of us can be in the kitchen doing things and getting past each other, while the baby sits in her chair.

Justin— We’ll have family nights where we all cuddle up on the sofa and watch a movie. On other nights, our older kids, Lila Rouge (14) and Rocco (12), will be down there with their friends and a mattress on the floor for a proper slumber party. So it works for all those situations.

Sophie— We love having people over, and hosting was one of the reasons for designing the new living space. A while ago, Justin had 30 or 40 people over from work for dinner and it worked.

Justin— It was amazing. People found different spaces – there was a group sitting down by the fire talking, some were at the table, others were at the kitchen bench. Everyone found their part of the house.

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Sophie— It’s designed for our family, our tastes and how we like to live.

Photography Sam Hartnett

Below— Oak flooring complements oak cabinetry by Cameron Grey. James Strachan at Crate built the extension.

The granite benchtop is more than five metres long, providing ample space for the family of five, and for entertaining.

The ‘Miunn’ bar stools

by Karri Monni for Lapalma are from ECC. ‘Bloom’ pendant lights by Resident, and ‘Máni HO-4’ dining chairs by Welling Ludvig for Arrmet, are all from Simon James Design.

DA N I S H D E S I G N S I N C E 19 5 2 | B O C O N C EP T.C O M AU C K L A N D | W E L L I N GTO N | C H R I STC H U R C H

D:02 NEW OPENING

On the rise

There’s often a long queue at Daily Bread in Ponsonby. It’s not like the locals have never seen a croissant, or that customers know that the set-up is temporary (this probably wouldn’t help the queue situation if they did). But the baked goods are very, very good and the space is enticing.

Alt Group designed the interiors at Greenhouse, where Daily Bread’s newest outpost resides, as well as the tables, leaners and benches, which were made

by Saint Leo Studio. There’s work by other local designers, including pendants by Monmouth and lounge chairs and coffee tables by Simon James.

As well as housing a bakery, Greenhouse intends to hint at what’s to come in 2021. This lovely bakery will be superseded by an apartment building

by Ockham, which will have an actual greenhouse as its top storey. Retail will take up the ground level, and Daily Bread intends to return.

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“We’ve changed the conversation to create more of a destination – hence a pop-up bakery, rather than a naff sales suite,” says Luke Scott of Alt Group.

“People can go there if they are interested in an apartment or a coffee.”

Despite their hiatus during the construction period, there will be plenty of Daily Bread to go around. Since opening theire first bakery in nearby Pt Chevalier, satellite stores have been in the pipeline, starting with Parnell. “We want to be able to sell organic bread to everyday people,” says co-founder Tom Hishon of their impending outlets in Takapuna and St Patrick’s Square in the CBD, “and not have a business model that’s reliant on wholesale.”

Greenhouse 17 Williamson Ave, Ponsonby, Auckland dailybread.co.nz

Photography Sam Hartnett

An Auckland bakery proves its worth in a temporary space.

Top and above— Alt Group designed the interior at Greenhouse, where Daily Bread resides. The benches and counters were made

by Saint Leo Studio and the space includes pieces

by Monmouth Glass and Simon James Design.

Daily Bread will be open here until the end of the year, or thereabouts.

Principal partners

Supporting partners

Curated by Designmuseum Danmark and Michael & Mariko Whiteway. The exhibition tour is coordinated by Brain Trust Inc., Tokyo.

Verner Panton Heart Cone Chair 1958 (designed), manufactured

by Vitra, stainless steel, wool.

Photograph Š Matsubara Yutaka

D:03 IN STORE

Foot traffic

Allbirds slips into Auckland’s Britomart with a new store.

New Zealand’s favourite shoe company Allbirds has a new store – its sixth.

“The strong response to each of our bricks-and-mortar locations makes it clear that consumers will visit a store if you make that experience feel fun, personal, and convenient,” says Travis Boyce, head of Allbirds operations.

Why open a store in Auckland? When the brand launched in 2016, New Zealand was one of the two countries we sold in, and we’ve been lucky to have incredible support from Kiwi consumers right from the start. We’ve always wanted to bring the brand home and launch a store, but it took some time to find the right location.

Once we saw the space in Britomart, we knew it was the perfect spot.

Isn’t retail dead? Although the rise of e-commerce has certainly altered the retail landscape, the majority of shoppers still like the option of having a physical experience with a brand or product before buying. That is especially true in footwear, since more than 80 percent of shoe sales are still conducted in person. We’ve thought strategically about how to elevate the retail experience and listen to our customers and their needs.

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Tell us about the design of your Auckland store – how did you want it to feel and who designed it? Our stores globally have the same pared-back feel, with creative uses of space and unique local touches. All our retail spaces are designed in a modular format that makes it easy for our team to switch out inventory and for customers to find the products they’re looking for. It was important to us that the Auckland store reflect its environment, with large floor tiles and oversized counter space made from basalt – an iconic and local resource. It also features custom chairs designed by our head of design and fellow Kiwi, Jamie McLellan, who comes from an industrial design background. These signature chairs tilt forward when you bend to tie a shoe, making the try-on experience more seamless and comfortable.

Do you plan to open other New Zealand stores in the future? With the growing support that’s coming from New Zealand, more stores are definitely on the horizon. For now, we are really pleased with the outcome of our Britomart store and will be focusing on making this one an awesome experience for our New Zealand customers.

Above— The ergonomic chair by Jamie McLellan, Allbirds head of design, is low to the ground and tilts forward when you bend to try on a shoe.

Below— The new Allbirds showroom at Britomart, Auckland.

D:04 BRIEFING

European union Boffi’s partnerships ensure the Italian brand is offering the best in design from Europe.

Boffi was founded as a kitchen manufacturer in Italy in 1934. Eighty-five years later, its creative directors include luminaries such as Antonio Citterio and Piero Lissoni.

The brand recently reworked its Auckland showroom to make room for sister brand DePadova, along with a more recent collaboration, MA/U Studio of Copenhagen.

CEO Roberto Gavazzi celebrated the partnerships on a recent visit to New Zealand. “Our project keeps growing and we keep putting things together that are appreciated,” he says, of the brands that collectively offer innovative kitchen and bathroom designs, home furniture and shelving systems.

The Boffi aesthetic is very clean, very minimal. Yes, it’s dark – like New Zealand!

You are very much black. We are very much black and white because this is how things appear more elegant, cleaner.

In our showrooms, we tend to present things with these concepts.

Tell us about Boffi’s sister brands.

We had always been a kitchen producer and in the late 90s, we developed a strategy to diversify into bathrooms and wardrobes. For all the other parts of the house, we decided to expand with another brand. So in 2015, we paired with DePadova. We merged the company and then took something else from Scandinavia, MA/U Studio, a company that specialises in industrial design with soft wood and metal. The designs are really well engineered, very solid.

Above— The ‘Quadtwo’ design by Jeffrey Bernett for Boffi is “pro small spaces and against the superfluous”.

The suspended cube opens from two sides, containing ample storage.

Right— Boffi CEO Roberto Gavazzi recently visited New Zealand, discussing the company’s partnerships at the newly renovated Auckland showroom.

Tell us about DePadova’s history.

Maddalena de Padova really was the lady of design in Italy in the 60s, 70s and through to the 90s. Many of the best designers in the world produced for DePadova. Maddalena was able to create a collection in a precise style – although it was a mix of styles, you could recognise the vision and taste of how she put things together. A touch of Scandinavia, a touch of Japan, something from the US, Italy and something German. It was visionary – eclectic but always with the same type of elegance and reduced loudness that we like to have in our products; for it not to be too much.

Boffi boffi.co.nz

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H O M E N E W ZE AL AN D

New home; New kitchen

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Ask your kitchen designer or cabinet maker about which Blum products are right for you and your new home.

Blum Showrooms 621 Rosebank Road

Auckland 09 820 5051 27 Dalziel Place Christchurch 03 379 4984

www.blum.com

D:05 RETAIL

Calm in a storm

A sustainable fashion label opens a serene store on a back street in Newmarket, Auckland.

Last year, Kowtow opened a store in Wellington designed by Rufus Knight.

This year, it’s Auckland’s turn. Kowtow founder Gosia Piatek discusses the store and brand philosophy.

Retail is tough – why is a store important to you? Interactions with a physical space and people still seem very important in the digital era. We’ve been selling online and via wholesalers worldwide for nearly 14 years, but nothing communicates as well as having your own retail store.

Customers can see and try on the entire range, and our sustainability story can be communicated with more potency – it becomes part of a conversation.

This is your second store with Knight – how is this one different? This store is smaller and has direct access from the street. The Wellington store has an eightmetre entrance ramp. We wanted to make the Auckland store feel more endemic to its environment – Auckland has a different energy to Wellington and we wanted to celebrate that in the design.

How did you want it to feel? We wanted it to retain key Kowtow elements of minimalism, and material choices had to align with our sustainability values.

It’s very important that the store feels spacious and calm.

What’s your favourite part? The wood door handle designed by Gidon Bing is very beautiful and such an important feature – it’s the first thing the customer interacts with when entering the space.

I also adore the counter and the customer interaction around it is 360 degrees – so there’s no hierarchy.

How is Auckland retail different to Wellington? Wellington has one central hub and everything is within walking distance. Auckland is very spread out and the city is joined by a series of highways.

Initially, this made it difficult for us to find the perfect location, but the York Street space came up and as soon as we saw it with Rufus we all knew if was the spot for us. It was gut instinct.

Kowtow 6 York St, Newmarket, Auckland nz.kowtowclothing.com

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Above— Proportion and scale form a refined, contemporary environment with broad references to mid-century Mexican architecture, modernist sculpture and Japonism. The fluid counter with its large brass mantel anchors the space. Minimalism is offset by organic curves, rich materials and finishes, including aged brass, monolithic oiled oak and specialist plaster.

Right— Materials have been selected with sustainability in mind: FSC-certified timbers, hand-treated metals, natural lay plasters and woven-fibre floor coverings and textiles.

D:06 INTERIORS

People’s republic

An Australian brand known for easy styling opens in Auckland.

Coco Republic has been helping designers and customers curate and create interiors and outdoor areas for more than 40 years.

It recently opened its first New Zealand store, in Auckland’s newly expanded Westfield Newmarket.

The family-owned company is known for its high-end furniture in a breezy mix of classic and contemporary styles, which is designed to age and fit in with existing pieces. The Auckland store will stock 300 items of furniture and homeware, with more available online.

Rather than just selling furniture, Coco Republic also offers styling and renovation advice, helping customers to work out how furniture is best placed within the home.

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The Auckland store is the only furniture retailer at Westfield, and features L’Americano, the brand’s signature café – the first outside Australia – with a fit-out inspired by the nautical Riviera styling of 1999 film The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Coco Republic cocorepublic.co.nz

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D:07 FIVE OF THE BEST

In the throes

Make a sublime transition from winter to spring with colour, comfort and texture.

Styling Sara Black Assistant Jiho Yun Photography Toaki Okano

Clockwise from right— ‘Mā’ throw by MelanieJane Smith (Ngāti Porou), $395 from The Poi Room, thepoiroom.co.nz; ‘Mikkel’ Norwegian lambswool blanket by Kristine Five Melvær for Røros Tweed, $490 from Everyday Needs, everyday-needs.com; ‘Una’ Norwegian lambswool blanket by Anderssen & Voll for Røros Tweed, $425 from Everyday Needs, everydayneeds.com; ‘Portland’ throw by Wallace & Sewell, $995 from Bob & Friends, bobandfriends.co.nz; ‘Situ’ blanket by Rosa Milne Design, $646 from Situ, situstudio.co.nz.

D:09 A BEAUTIFUL THING

Woven embrace Tradition, contemporary curves and sentiment come together.

D:08 PRODUCTS

Go ood goo o Desirrable designs to o grace e interior spaces.

The ‘Mbrace’ by Sebastian Herkner for Dedon combines lovely sentiments into a beautiful chair. “I wanted to use the traditional technique of weaving to create a strong design that was like a gesture,” he says, “the gesture of embracing someone.”

Herkner is one of Europe’s leading designers, with a reputation for combining new technologies and traditional craftsmanship. With Mbrace, he took three hard-wearing 21st-cenutry fibres and created a mesh-like weave, each with its own profile and colour, and forming a cocoon-like chair set on a solid teak base. The design for Dedon, the innovative outdoor-furniture makers, aligns with the company’s weaving tradition.

The Mbrace series is supremely comfortable, thanks to extra-wide backrests that swoop and fold around you, and are supplemented with optional cushions. It looks exceptional, too.

Initially available as a wingback chair, a rocker, lounge chair and foot stool, there’s now a daybed, armchair, and a dining table available in two sizes.

Herkner has created furniture that’s comfortable with or without the optional cushions. Outdoor furniture never looked so enticingly unconventional.

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1— ‘Bow’ coffee table

by Guilherme Torres for ClassiCon, POA from Matisse, matisse.co.nz.

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2— ‘Panthella Mini’ table lamp by Verner Panton for Louis Poulsen, $1450 from Cult, cultdesign.co.nz.

3— ‘Angled’ jugs by Lucy Coote for Salad Days Ceramics, $140 each from Salad Days Ceramics, saladdaysceramics.com.

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4— ‘Primary’ book holder

by Samantha O’Farrell, $140 from The Library, thelibrary-store.com.

5— ‘Cugino’ stools/side tables by Konstantin Grcic for Mattiazzi, $763 each from Simon James Design, simonjamesdesign.co.nz.

6— ‘Senja’ sofa by Studio Segers for Tribù, $23,649 from Dawson & Co, dawsonandco.nz.

‘Mbrace’ by Sebastian Herkner for Dedon dawsonandco.nz

Edited by Sara Black

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D:10 INTERIORS

Life in colour

Dulux eyes up global trends to distill colours for the year ahead.

Dulux always nails the zeitgeist with its colour forecast – each year, its experts pull together global trends and predict how they might play out at home.

Where the past few years have seen dynamic, retro-inspired colours and brights, 2020 seems to be the year we take a breath – with disruption and change in the air, we seem to want to pause and reconnect with the essence of what matters to us.

Think recycled materials, natural colours and a blend of old and new.

‘Essence’ is a collection that brings together gentle neutrals and muted brights across four palettes, with more restrained tones, such as clay, emerging, and used in smaller doses.

Though neutral, the palettes are far from dull. “Once you’ve lived with colour,” says Dulux colour specialist Davina Harper, you’ll never return to a blank canvas.”

Dulux Colour Forecast dulux.co.nz

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Top— ‘Indulge’ is decadent, with a nod to the past, featuring rich burgundy, eggplant, earthy brown, faded terracotta and coral.

Above right— Luxury is now handmade, natural and understated: ‘Grounded’ includes soft grey and biscuit, with lavender and warm coral.

Above— Nature comes inside with ‘Cultivate’, a serene layering of greens with accents of plum, curd and chalky blue, plus timber and stone.

Right— ‘Comeback’ features energising shades of blue-green, azure and amber, with burgundy and clay. Just add vintage furniture.

D:11 THE SET-UP

Animate objects Chairs with character create personality and bring their own presence to a space.

Styling Sara Black Assistant Jiho Yun Photography Toaki Okano

Clockwise from top right— ‘Dots’ coat hook by Lars Tornøe for Muuto, from $40 from Bauhaus, bauhaus. co.nz; ‘#1’ vase by Milia Seyppel for Karakter, $390 from Cult, cultdesign.co.nz; ‘Branca’ chair by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin for Mattiazzi, $1442 from Simon James Design, simonjamesdesign. com; ‘Reflex’ cushion ft.

Raf Simons x Kvadrat fabric

by Rachel Carley Design, $349 from Tessuti, tessuti. co.nz; ‘Result’ chair by Friso Kramer and Wim Rietveld for Hay, $683 from Cult, cultdesign. co.nz; Handwoven tote

by Palorosa, $255 from Everyday Needs, everydayneeds.com; ‘Hightide’ steel scissors by Penco; from $25 from Everyday Needs, everyday-needs. com. Fabric as backdrop by Tory Burch, $28 per metre from The Fabric Store, thefabricstore.co.nz.

Clockwise from right— ‘Bellissima’ lamp by Ferruccio Laviani for Kartell, $1050 from Backhouse, backhousenz. com; handwoven clutch

by Palorosa, $155 from Everyday Needs, everydayneeds.com; handspun, hand-knitted wool socks by Hut Socks, $100 a pair from Everyday Needs, everydayneeds.com; ‘Piuma’ chair

by Piero Lissoni for Kartell, $980 from Backhouse, backhousenz.com; waffle beach towel by Città, $59.90 from Città, cittadesign. com; John Derian Picture Book (published by Artisan), $160 from Tessuti, tessuti. co.nz; ‘Osso’ chair by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Mattiazzi, $1453 from Simon James Design, simonjamesdesign.com.

Fabric as backdrop by Tory Burch, $28 per metre from The Fabric Store, thefabricstore.co.nz.

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FURNITURE & HOMEWARES | INTERIOR DESIGN WWW.COCOREPUBLIC.CO.NZ

D:12 IN PROFILE

Andy Hamilton

The landscape architect works locally and as far off as Zanzibar.

Tell us what you do and why you do it.

We design gardens at a range of scales, from urban courtyards to large rural properties. Planting tends to take centre stage; I love being in gardens where the atmosphere is derived from the planting more than the built stuff.

You worked for Tom Stuart-Smith in London, on gardens around the world.

Tell us about a project that you can look back on and really appreciate.

I worked for Tom for 11 years, a great education and exposure to work in very different cultural contexts. The project I’d most like to revisit is the public garden we created in the medina of Marrakech (lejardinsecretmarrakech.com). The site comprises two courtyards, the smaller of the two being the space you enter into from the busy narrow streets of the souk.

It’s an exotic garden where I had licence to play with a broad collection of plant species derived from landscapes across the world that share the same climate as Marrakech. The larger courtyard became a restoration of the pre-existing Islamic garden planted with a grid of local citrus varieties growing through a meadow of Stipa tenuissima, Tulbaghia, California poppy, and scattered with lavender.

What you are currently working on?

I have a mix of local and international projects, mostly private residential.

Local projects include town gardens in Auckland and rural properties on Waiheke Island, around the Matakana area and in the Hawke’s Bay region. My current international projects include a mix of commercial and private rural properties on Mustique, Bali, India and Zanzibar. One of the projects we have in India is a large site two hours east of Mumbai, where we are making an extensive productive landscape set within acres of meadow that we’ll sow from seed collected on site.

Zanzibar is a slow burner of a project, designing the landscape around an eco resort. It’s a challenging site with almost no soil. We are generating a layer of biomass through nursery crops that are composted in-situ. Planting is largely generated from what naturally occurs onsite with seed and cuttings collected and established in the nursery.

What plants have inspired your design work since you’ve been back in New Zealand? What initially struck me was the increased range of native plants in production. I love the contrasting mix of texture and endless shades of greens and browns that our native flora offers.

I enjoy experimenting with planting that combines the textural interest of our native flora with the more overtly floriferous perennials at our disposal. andyhamiltonstudio.com

Top— Plans for ‘Le Jardin Secret’ in Marrakech, Morocco; the larger courtyard became a restoration of the pre-existing Islamic garden.

Above— Andy Hamilton.

Left— An English country garden at Kittisford, Somerset.

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HOME + PLACEMAKERS

D:13 KITCHENS

Bespoke option PlaceMakers puts a personal design within easy reach.

Kitchens sit at the heart of the modern home – whether you’re building or renovating, it’s the room you’ll use the most, whether that’s cooking for one on a weeknight or entertaining family and friends on the weekend. It’s also one of the single biggest costs in any build.

PlaceMakers puts a highly personalised design within reach, working with you to create a bespoke kitchen that reflects how you and your family live and function in the space, with a look that has been tailored just for you. Equally, you can bring your architect’s concept plans with you, and PlaceMakers’ knowledgeable kitchen consultants will help you bring your dream kitchen to life.

PlaceMakers kitchens also include luxury items you might not expect, including handle-less options, engineered stone benches, soft-closing doors and drawers, waterfall benchtops and sculleries.

From concept and design through to delivery and installation, PlaceMakers manages the many moving parts to take the stress out of the entire process.

Best of all, the brand proudly stands by its products with a 15-year warranty on cabinetry and a lifetime warranty on Hettich Atira German hardware and Internal Storage Solutions.

PlaceMakers placemakers.co.nz/kitchens-home

Above— This designer ‘line’ kitchen has an island and Caeserstone benchtop.

Left— The Acero ‘Aurora’ gooseneck mixer in brass, is also available in copper and gunmetal.

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D:14 IN TRANSIT

New leaf

The rapid uptake of electric vehicles is transforming the transport and energy industries.

The Leaf is the first car to feature bi-directional charging. What does that mean in practice? Bi-directional charging gives customers the chance to use their cars as mobile storage batteries. For example, if you have solar panels at home, you can charge up your car with them during the day, then at night discharge the stored energy back to your house to power your heating, lights and so on. Leaf has offered this worldwide since 2013.

Will this change how we use energy?

It enables customers to take control of their energy usage – maximising the effectiveness of home-renewable energy, or buying cheap off-peak energy from the grid, storing it, then using it when prices are at peak levels. The energy a house requires is typically a small percentage of the car’s battery capacity so, even though the car just powered their house, the customer will have plenty of energy for their driving needs. Customers retain complete flexibility to use their cars to drive or to store energy – they could even charge up during the day at work or a parking lot, then drive home and use that energy to power their house. The future is very flexible.

What part will Nissan play in managing that energy exchange? Our job is to make great driving cars with technology that enables customers to take advantage of the new opportunities they present.

We partner with energy and charging providers, and others who manage customers’ energy options. We’ll ensure our partners maintain the battery pack’s lifecycle, backed by our warranties for Nissan-certified programmes.

What are the knock-on effects – what other things are disrupted and changed by this technology? Many people are seeing the benefits of stationary storage batteries. We offer customers the opportunity to use their car for this purpose. Beyond that, if we can create an energy storage ‘cloud’, then the flexibility that offers – power storage and usage when it’s needed – can greatly improve the efficiency of local communities or even national grids. It will also be an increased adoption of renewable energy sources that are sustainable and flexible and that will make a real difference.

Will we own cars in the future? I believe many people will value the convenience of having their own cars – I live in the

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suburbs and have a car filled with my kids’ stuff. The opportunity for vehicle owners is to leverage this asset. In the future, when the customer wants their car, they’ll have a great driving experience waiting for them. But when they’re not using the car, it can actually work for them by reducing their overall energy costs. Not sharing your car with others to drive, instead sharing its energy storage capacity with others, is what we call Nissan Energy Share.

Is ‘range anxiety’ justified? For most customers, there’s more than enough range in today’s electric vehicles (EVs) for daily commutes. We know that the battery capacity of today’s EVs is sufficient for more than 90 percent of all daily use.

And with today’s increased charging infrastructure – which is getting better by the day – if the driver wants to take a longer trip for a weekend break, they can call on an easily accessible and everexpanding network of quick-chargers.

These can top up the battery quickly and efficiently on their journey.

What do you do with batteries at the end of their life? The good news is, in most cases, once the vehicle has ended its useful life and is sent for recycling, a very usable and valuable battery still exists. The batteries enter what is called ‘second life’, which can be quite inexpensive and have all kinds of uses – as part of a public transport system, being repackaged for low-cost vehicles or re-purposed for large stationary storage projects, for example. In the end, the batteries can be recycled. Nissan is currently working with recycling partners who can recycle up to 98 percent of the valuable materials and return them to the battery production chain.

How quickly do you see fleets changing to 100 percent electric?

Different customers and countries are adopting EVs at different rates – this is extremely market- and use-dependant.

We’re seeing a rapid increase in awareness and understanding of the benefits of EVs – they’re great fun to drive, convenient, easy to own and have very low running costs. The cost of batteries is also falling rapidly, making cars increasingly affordable. We are now developing a range of EVs to meet the desires of many different customer types – this will rapidly accelerate uptake for personal and fleet use.

What needs to happen to speed up that process? There are many factors that go into the widespread adoption of EVs, including battery costs, government subsidies, driving incentives, privileges and customer experiences with EVs. It’s difficult to comment on subsidies and incentives, but battery costs are going down and more customers are seeing the benefits of owning EVs, so the tipping point for mass adoption of EVs is approaching rapidly.

Nissan was among the first EV manufacturers – what plans do you have for other vehicle models? It’s really exciting for us to see the growth in awareness and understanding of EVs. Our engineers and designers have more than 10 years experience and, with more than

HOME + NISSAN

450,000 EVs sold globally, we’ve had great feedback on what customers love about their vehicles, and what they may want next. All of this passion and experience is being poured into our third generation of electric vehicles, which will start coming to market soon. Nissan’s brand ethos is all about the democratisation of technology.

Our best-selling models, the Qashqai and X-Trail, are leading the introduction of our ProPilot autonomous drive and next-gen connectivity tech. In the future, we will bring our crossover leadership and EV leadership together. As part of our ongoing mid-term plan, we are committed to introducing a range of EVs in multiple segments by 2022.

There’s a lot more to come from Nissan.

Above— The Nissan Leaf.

Left— Nic Thomas, global director of electric vehicles for Nissan.

Nissan Leaf nissan.co.nz

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D:15 ARCHITECTURE FOR SALE

Mid-century magic Three classics by eminent New Zealand architects come to market.

‘Anderson’ House by John Scott, Taupo In 1956, John Scott designed a holiday home in Taupo for the Anderson family.

It sits across the road from the lake, with living areas on the second floor to catch the view, and was clearly well ahead of its time: to the casual eye it seems more 1960s than 1950s.

In its original incarnation, a dark-stained timber pavilion with a gently pitched roof sat above two open carports, anchored by a triangular stone chimney through the centre. White-painted fins gave the home a progressive look, and walls of timber-framed windows pulled in the sun and views, clearly articulating the chimney and roof.

With the ‘Anderson’ house, Scott elegantly overcame a classic New Zealand problem – view to the southwest, sun to the north – by massing the house in an ‘L’ shape around a sheltered northern courtyard, and placing a wall of glass in the living room to take in the view.

It’s a move that seems so obvious, so familiar now – yet even some of our best modernists forgot about the sun.

Sixty years on, the home is in need of sympathetic restoration. Its dashing

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original concept has been eroded by a series of unfortunate additions including standard aluminium sliders, three-car garaging and ad-hoc rooms.

The stone chimney has been shortened and the deck extended, which makes the place look a little ungainly. And it has been painted a dull shade of green, which obscures the fine timber work and contrast between horizontal weatherboards and vertical fins.

Yet there’s still an elegance to the house, especially inside the main living area – soaring ceilings and exposed trusses, its bones are on display. There are clerestory windows and lovely woodwork, especially around the dining room in the middle of the house.

There’s also the beautiful semi-covered courtyard, sheltered by the house, and a church-like spa room with geothermal spring, complete with multi-coloured stained-glass windows. It’s clearly the early work of a master architect – and one that deserves a second chance.

224 Lake Terrace, Waipahihi, Taupo bayleys.co.nz/2651761

Above— Stained glass bathes the home’s geothermal spa in glorious coloured light.

Below— A series of additions has obscured the original concept but the bones are there.

Natusch & Sons, Westshore, Napier Three generations of Natuschs worked in the family firm, but it seems likely that this one came from the third – Guy Natusch, who was known for his modernist sensibilities and love of clean lines. This pretty little house sits on the water at Westshore, and an elegant monopitch roof provides a dynamic flow of living spaces over two levels. The approach from the street is equally lovely, with the road-side roof pitching in the opposite direction to the seaward one. Some of the timber windows have been replaced with aluminium, and there’s a glass balustrade on the deck – but internally, there’s still original timber cabinetry and a stone wall behind the fireplace.

Above— The monopitch roof hovers above splitlevel living spaces.

Left— The living area features original built-in cabinetry and stonework.

Below— Outdoor spaces under extended eaves foster an easy connection with the landscape.

3 Whakarire Avenue, Westshore, Napier nzsothebysrealty.com/hbnp0268

Lillian Chrystall, Kumeu, Auckland Less well known than her male peers, Lillian Chrystall is a pioneering New Zealand architect who graduated in 1944.

She’s still practising today. This classic home in Kumeu sits on four hectares of subdividable land, which doesn’t bode well for its future. The design features a long, low profile, with rooms pulled back from columns holding up the roof to create covered outdoor spaces. Inside, original timber joinery and brick give the place warmth, while subtle delineations between areas create a sophisticated flow of spaces. A sympathetic addition containing a master bedroom completes the picture.

9 Dysart Lane, Kumeu, Auckland raywhite.com/HBN20203

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D:16 KITCHENS

Food for thought Fisher & Paykel designers discuss the brand’s latest releases.

Adam Moody, Fisher & Paykel’s chief designer for cooking, on the new kitchen ‘Companion’ series.

Tell us about the ‘Companion’ concept.

Our new range of cooking companion products provides choice and design freedom for customers. It includes a combination steam oven, microwave oven, warming drawers and a coffee maker that are designed in modular sizes to work perfectly in any kitchen size or layout.

What do the companions do that other products don’t? They provide additional cooking technologies for a greater variety of cooking methods and styles. The combination steam oven and combination microwave oven are great multi-function appliances. For example, the steam oven operates as an oven, grill and fan grill, and it also has five steam functions – all in the one compact footprint.

Why the new black range? We’ve made all of the design elements in the new range black. There’s a lot less visual contrast within the product, which results in a more refined palette and materiality. They can either blend in with the environment and recede into the background to provide a minimal look, or become the hero piece and really stand out.

How do the products tie together?

The design is carefully considered – the products can work on their own or together with consistent dimensions and cohesive design detailing. We get really excited about seeing our products seamlessly installed into a well-designed kitchen, where the architect or designer has really thought about finer details. This follows through to the detail we put into the design of our products.

Black cooking companion products will be available summer 2019/2020.

Centre— The coffee maker has a refined aesthetic and an impressive 13 different beverage options.

Right— Products within the ‘Companion’ range are designed to work seamlessly together.

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Right— Adam Moody loves the challenge of starting with a blank slate, using customer insights and new technology to drive design.

HOME + FISHER & PAYKEL

Mark Haydon, Fisher & Paykel’s chief designer for refrigeration, on the new ‘Column’ refrigeration range.

Tell us about the ‘Column’ concept.

It’s a range of refrigerators and freezers in varying widths that can be tailored to suit a customer’s preferences. The single units can be placed side by side or separated if required. The door can be stainless steel, or a custom-made panel can be applied so that the product is hidden away and blends into its surroundings.

What were you trying to solve? Column refrigeration is a well-defined product sector overseas, but we felt we had our own unique perspective on what ‘class-leading refrigeration’ should look like. The result is a beautifully designed and engineered refrigeration range that has received fantastic feedback and accolades both at home and abroad.

What do these products do that others don’t? We know that customers love the idea of independent compartments inside their fridge. We also know that different food requires different storage temperatures – so we developed a system that offers both. Each fridge and freezer has variable temperature zones, each with three different food modes that can be easily changed with the touch of a button.

Architects Crosson Architects Photography Simon Wilson

Above— ‘Column’ refrigerators can be integrated seamlessly into cabinetry, with minimal gaps around the outside.

Left— Mark Haydon and the Auckland team designed the platform from the ground up.

Below— Refrigerators and freezers have three food-mode options each; LED lighting at the side and ceiling provides brilliant illumination.

Tell us about the design of the interior.

We wanted the interior fit-out to reflect the same qualities found in the beautiful kitchen environments in which they will be placed. This meant balancing highquality materials, such as a full stainless steel interior, with beautiful usability and an LED lighting scheme that enhances the overall sense of space.

What does this refrigeration concept provide for designers? The freedom to decide how to adapt these products in a way that works seamlessly with any plan.

Fisher & Paykel is the principal sponsor of HOME Tour 2019 – see p. 150 for more information.

Fisher & Paykel fisherpaykel.com

Architects Rogan Nash Architects Photography Simon Wilson

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Left— Aïshti Foundation

by David Adjaye houses an art collection by Tony Salamé, and doubles as a luxury retail destination.

Right— The Phoenicia emerged on the local landscape as a design that loosened the strict modernism of the time, to more clearly reflect the vernacular.

Below left— ‘Plot #4371’

by Bernard Khoury was designed as workingand-living lofts for the city’s creative crowd.

Photography Jo Bates, Alamy, Bahaa Ghoussainy

Below— Zaha Hadid’s Issam Ferres Institute at the American University of Beirut.

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D:17 DESTINATION

Beirut, Lebanon

A glorious mix of chaos and creative energy, Beirut exemplifies the improbability of artistic survival against extreme odds.

And it won’t be kept down.

A glance across the architectural landscape serves as an insight into the heart of Beirut – full of complexities and contradictions, extravagant, maddeningly sensual, multi-layered and utterly confounding.

Architecturally, politically, artistically and socially, there’s a lot going on in the city. Its constantly evolving skyline has been at the mercy of political power plays and much of its beauty bludgeoned by blunt development. While Beirut’s love affair with architecture and design has stuttered and surged through Lebanon’s strife and calm, it has never abated. On Phoenician and Roman foundations, the Ottoman Empire and French Mandate left distinctive imprints on the city that’s sandwiched between the Mediterranean and the mountains.

As did the modernist golden age – a time when Beirut shone as the avant-garde capital of the Arab world.

Examples of architectural ingenuity by Alvar Alto, Victor Gruen, Pierre El Khoury, Jhalil Khoury, Karol Schayer, Jacques Aractingi and Joseph Nassar rose across the city. Some of these marvels still stand – there’s the rigorous geometry of the quake-proof Banque du Liban by Addor & Julliard and the elegant Hôtel Phoenicia

by Edward D. Stone, Ferdinand Dagher and Rodolphe Elias. Others wonders have been pummelled by war or replaced by dull predictably. And there’s now a new roll-call of starchitects – Zaha Hadid, David Adjaye, Renzo Piano, Fosters & Partners – making their mark, their signatures on the skyline making for a ritzy read.

The late Hadid’s second contribution to the city is still being built – a compressed Z wrapped in snakeskin-like mesh on the site of the old souks will be a retail and dining destination. Her first is the cantilevered concrete anvil-meetsziggurat Issam Ferres Institute, which stands surrounded by 20th-century buildings and ancient cyprus at the American University, an oasis of green in a city almost stripped of it. For many locals, the building is a jarring contextual anomaly, while her $60-million-plus Beirut Souks project is a design of intriguing sensual curves.

On the other side of the city at Jal El Dib, David Adjaye combines art and commerce in the Aïshti Foundation. A geometric rust-red lattice screen wraps the complex that houses luxury retailer Tony Salamé’s art collection and department store.

Piano’s Beirut History Museum has been in progress since 2015 – it promises an ethereal, permeable and luminous space that will preserve the view to the sea at Martyrs Square.

Local heroes He’s turned a war bunker into a nightclub, designed a residential tower that mimics the shape of a hand grenade, and has a machine gun with a strike through it painted on his studio door. Architect Bernard Khoury sometimes uses the scars of the country’s complicated history in his expression, mocking political stupidity and the futility of war. An outspoken critic, he’s also forthright in his description of Beirut as “extremely ugly”, but “extremely fascinating”.

Khoury’s design pedigree probably helps him weather fallout from his public proclamations. He studied at RISDI, has a Masters in Architecture from Harvard, and is the son of ‘Le Corbusier of Lebanon’, Khalil Khoury.

Khoury senior created one of his most daring designs for his own father in upscale Hamra. The Interdesign Showroom is a Brutalist alien presence – part spaceship, part pyramid – it angles concrete blocks with glass slits to access and block light. Construction began in the 1970s but halted during the country’s 15-year civil war – a crane remained onsite throughout the entire period. It was finally finished in 1997.

200grs Rana Haddad and Pascal Hachem are the architects, academics, designers and artists behind 200grs. The architecture comes through in their sculptural and exquisitely crafted furniture and refined design pieces. The art comes through in the micro installations – each beautifully composed and compelling – at their light-filled warehouse studio and workroom in Sin el Fil.

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Above— Tables by 200grs, the tops comprising numerous brass rods. London’s Victoria & Albert Museum recently acquired the design studio’s ‘Stuck Stick’ series for its permanent collection.

Left— Pieces on display at designer Karen Chekerdjian’s showroom.

Below— Nicolas Moussallem (left) and David Raffoul of David/Nicolas.

As artists – separate to their studio – they came to Wellington in 2017 for a residency at Letting Space, where they created ‘Unsettled’, an installation prompted by homelessness in the capital – an issue that surprised them given our low population and abundance of space.

Lebanon’s own problems have been a driving force behind 200grs (the name references a shop in the old Beirut Souks where goods were paid for by weight). “We started in the spirit of the constraints we have in Lebanon,” says Haddad. “I think it’s the war that made us like this – it’s a way to fight what we’ve been through, but positively. It’s a driver that turns constraints into opportunity – creativity towards something new,” she says.

The pair, who lecture in architecture and design, talk of a new wave of emerging talent, partly due to creatives returning to discover what can be achieved in Beirut.

“Before it was about art but now is the time for design,” says Hachem. 200grs.com David/Nicolas Since their Milan Design Week breakout in 2014, the international profile of design duo of David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem has been on a rapid rise.

The multi-disciplinary studio works in retail, hospitality, residential interior and furniture design. They’ve coined the term ‘Retrofuturism’ for their aesthetic, a meeting point of historic Oriental geometry and futuristic space travel. You can see their sublimely original interior work at Kaleo, a restaurant in Downtown.

They recently toured Supernova, an exhibition of their latest designs, in New York and Paris. (You can see it on their website). davidandnicolas.com Carwan Gallery Architects Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte and Pascale Wakim founded Carwan Gallery in 2010 – the first contemporary gallery of its kind in the Middle East, they say. They’ve collaborated with Bernard Khoury, India Mahdavi and Michael Anastassiades. And they’ve shown work by local designers 200grs, Nada Debs (nadadebs.com), Karen Chekerdjian (karenchekerdjian.com) and Marc Baroud (marcbaroud.com), alongside international designers such as Sabine Marcelis. carwangallery.com

Joy Mardini Design Gallery At her gallery in the bar-and-dining district of Gemmayzeh, Joy Mardini exhibits what she calls collectible design. Mardini, who opened her gallery in 2011, has witnessed the recent and rapid growth spurt of contemporary Lebanese design.

International recognition has been helped, she says, by the likes of Paris-based furniture and product designer Charles Kalpakian and David/Nicolas. jmdesigngallery.com Text Jo Bates

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Case # 1. ‘Early Arrivals’ (2018), Nikau Grove, Te Henga.

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Case studies A photographic collaboration explores the intriguing story of the terrarium used to transport plants to New Zealand in the 19th century – and our native plants to England.

Text Felicity Jones Photography Mark Smith

Case Studies began as an image in my head, a box of romantic English flowers on a path in the New Zealand bush. Perhaps fresh off a settlers’ boat, the plants were on their way to grace some freshly dug soil in a new land.

Like my mother, and her mother, I’ve always had a love of plants and gardening. Reflecting on how difficult life must have been for those early European settlers, I’ve often thought that making a garden would have been paramount on their arrival in Aotearoa, not just for the obvious survival reasons but also as a means of maintaining an emotional connection with a now-distant homeland.

Not everything grows easily from seed and I was curious to find out how our exotic plant life travelled here – and I soon discovered the intriguing story of the Wardian case. In 1829, a London doctor and amateur naturalist, Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, placed a moth pupa on some leaf mould into a jar, which he then sealed to watch its metamorphosis. During his daily observations he noticed condensation forming and a water cycle beginning but was surprised when he saw two tiny plants growing – a fern and a grass.

An avid fern collector who had struggled to cultivate them in his smoggy London garden, Dr Ward was delighted. Interest in the moth was now diverted to seeing how long the plants could survive in this enclosed glass habitat; by all accounts they were still thriving four years later. During this time Dr Ward tested many other plants and realised his discovery had great potential.

As a passionate botanical collector, he was particularly excited about the opportunities for plant travel, so he set about designing a much larger and more sturdy version of his original terrarium.

In June 1833, with the aid of nurseryman George Loddiges, the first two wood-and-glass cases filled with a mixture of plants were placed on a ship bound for Sydney, arriving six months later in perfect condition.

Following Ward’s instructions, the same cases were then put to the test as they carried back to England several tender Australian native plants, including the delicate coral fern (Gleichenia microphylla) that had never survived shipping before. Throughout a rough

eight-month journey, the plants received no water and little attention, but arrived in “a very healthy state”.

The significance of this humble case and its influence on botanical globalisation and colonisation has only begun to be appreciated in recent times.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, ships carried these plant-filled cases over every ocean, from one country to another. Some plants were collected for scientific purposes; others for economic and political reasons. For New Zealand, it meant that along with the influx of European settlers, the landscape was very quickly and irrevocably changed.

The idea of telling these stories in a visual way led me into conversation with Mark Smith. Mark is a photographer with a curiosity about the natural world and I was excited when he agreed to join this exploration. It was important to both of us that the project was collaborative, and this approach led to a fulfilling year of travel around the countryside with our pretend Wardian case bursting with various botanical examples artfully placed within.

There were plenty of challenges along the way: carrying the case, camera gear and plants to remote locations was sometimes physically demanding but nearly always fun. Conceptually, we liked the idea of the visual containment as a way of elevating the plants’ status. We also wanted to highlight the collision of the botanical and cultural worlds: as someone who works in floristry, I’m always looking at new ways to meaningfully present botanical material.

This first exhibition explores the range of native plant specimens collected and pressed within the pages of Milton’s Paradise Lost, by botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, during Captain Cook’s first voyage to Aotearoa. Of course, this year marks 250 years since the Endeavour arrived on our shores, and the exhibition is a timely addition to the Tuia – Encounters 250 commemorations. In presenting these works, we hope to contribute to the stories of our past, and promote discussion around our joint future and the protection of our natural heritage.

Case Studies, October 14 to 25, at Allpress Studio, 8 Drake St, Freemans Bay, Auckland.

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Case # 16. ‘Pinus Radiata’ (2019), Napier Taupo Highway.

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Case # 2. ‘Kew Bound’ (2018), Te Henga.

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Case # 9. ‘Cabbage and Kumara’ (2018), Te Parapara Garden, Hamilton Gardens.

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Case # 13. ‘Heather and Toe Toe’ (2019), Kaimanawa Forest Park.

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HOME + MERCEDES-BENZ

DRIVEN

HOME Tour 2019 teams up with The Mercedes-Benz X-Class to visit architecturally designed houses around the country.

We’re delighted to welcome The Mercedes-Benz X-Class to the fold on HOME Tour 2019, which kicked off in Wellington in September. Driven by design, the X-Class is our official vehicle partner on all four tours this year.

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In each centre, the HOME team will make their way to tour houses in the X-Class and, while in Central Otago, attendees can experience the vehicle for themselves as they’re driven up a private driveway to visit one of the standout homes. In Christchurch and Auckland, the car will be available to test drive for a limited number of HOME Tour attendees.

The Mercedes-Benz X-Class is a comfortable cross between a utility vehicle and an SUV. Having driven it, we can attest that the ride is smooth and powerful. There’s plenty of legroom in the cab and a very large tray behind.

1. The Mercedes-Benz X-Class is our official vehicle partner in all four HOME Tour centres.

2. Editor Simon FarrellGreen takes the wheel.

3. On a single steep site in Kelburn, Wellington, this design by Gerald Parsonson comprises two superb homes. 4. ‘Pyramid Scheme’

by Patchwork Architecture is carefully crafted for family living in the capital.

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Designed for both town and country, this all-terrain vehicle is a great match for the Island landscape, and we’re looking outh 1 f ard to driving it in Central Otago. But forwa it’s equally comfortable around town, and at home on narrow city streets – helped by the 360-degree camera, which switches on automatically when reverse gear is engaged, and provides a bird’s-eye view of the vehicle on the central display.

The Mercedes-Benz X-Class looked very smart pulled up outside the architecturally designed houses on our Wellington tour.

Keep an eye out for us in the South Island in October, and Auckland in November.

For more information on HOME Tour and how to buy tickets, turn to p. 150.

The Mercedes-Benz X-Class mercedes-benz.co.nz/x-class 3

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TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR

LANDSCAPING PROJECTS • Decking

• Fencing

• Paving

• Pergola

• Retaining

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• Irrigation

• Outdoor Heating

INSPIRING OUTDOOR LIVING At PlaceMakers we are well equipped to help you turn your landscaping dream into a reality. We have a comprehensive range of materials and the tools you need. We know landscaping Zg] p^ k^ ^Z`^k mh laZk^ hnk dghpe^]`^ mh a^ei rhn fZd^ Zg informed decision to ensure you achieve the best result.

placemakers.co.nz Scan here for the latest copy of our Landscaping Catalogue

Green rooms: A family home is updated with a series of outdoor rooms

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Resort life: A pool, deck and changing room transform a yard and connect key spaces

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OUTDOORS

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Pou pavilion: A minimalist outdoor room sits elegantly across the pool of a Ron Sang classic

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Designer Ermanno Cattaneo, Suzanne Turley Landscapes Location Remuera, Auckland

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Pou pavilion

Project Pool pavilion

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1— ‘Network 142’ sunloungers by Rodolfo Dordoni for Roda and ‘Stork 001’ sidetables by Gordon Guillaumier for Roda from ECC. 2—Topiary forms an elegant backdrop to the pool area. 3— An internal garden separates the spaces. 4— Precast concrete beams suspended on columns unite the pavilions.

When Ermanno Cattaneo arrived in New Zealand from Italy to take up a position at Suzanne Turley Landscapes, he probably didn’t imagine he’d soon be working in a medium that his predecessors had been using since 150BC. Cattaneo, a registered architect in his homeland, “bent” his career towards landscape architecture while studying at the Politecnico di Milano. A part-time internship, where he was involved in the greening of empty urban spaces – from school playgrounds to cycleways and town squares – inspired a change of direction and his master’s thesis explored the value of landscape restoration.

When Suzanne Turley Landscapes was asked to upgrade the grounds of a Ron Sang-designed home in Remuera, Auckland, Cattaneo was immediately fascinated by the residence. “I loved its structure. To this day, I think it’s one of the best houses I’ve seen in Auckland,” he says.

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Pou pavilion

Built in 1973, Sang’s expression of intersecting concrete blades was a first of its kind in New Zealand. While concrete had been used extensively in industrial buildings, this was something different. Several decades later, Fearon Hay Architects updated the building – in keeping with the original – by inserting fine steel-framed glazing among the existing concrete columns, beams and sheer walls.

After this update, the owners wanted to create a better space for entertaining around the pool, and they asked the Suzanne Turley team to come up with a concept. To Cattaneo, the solution was obvious: precast concrete. “Designing a pavilion to speak the language of such an iconic house gave us the opportunity to play with reflections and responses, moods and material,” he says.

Taking cues from the substance, scale and linearity of the original, Cattaneo designed a pool house on the opposite boundary of this elevated site that overlooks a slice of suburbia. Architectural allegiance was cemented by employing precast concrete in a design that spans the decades. Two horizontal beams suspended on columns unite a pair of pavilions – one for cooking and dining, the other for relaxed connection around a fireplace.

Viewed from the main home, the beams have an elegant balance of weight and weightlessness. “They are like a concrete portal that frames and provides access to the rooms behind them.”

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5— The maple tree, the centrepoint between the pavilions, serves as a delicate contrast to concrete. 6— The lounge has a louvred roof to manage the elements.

‘Mistral 101 and 103’ sofas by Rodolfo Dordoni for Roda from ECC. The artwork is by Chris Charteris.

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7— The pou by Chris Bailey represent the three children in the family. 8— The ends of the deck continue over the edge of the pool to form protective coping.

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9— Timber wraps the floors, walls and cabinetry of the dining and seating pavilions. ‘Piper 122 Comfort’ chairs by Rodolfo Dordoni for Roda and ‘Spinnaker 034’ table by Gordon Guillaumier for Roda from ECC.

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These outdoor rooms mix tough materials (black granite on the fireplace hearth and benchtop; black metal roofs) with softer elements (timber-lined walls and upholstered seating). The two monumental structures are linked by a delicate glass box that encases an internal garden, where a maple tree is the antithesis of the strong structural skeleton.

In spring, its feathery foliage is aglow with filtered light. In autumn, its blazing leaves punctuate the scene with colour.

This tiny enclosed garden is underplanted with evergreens and a living floor of mounded helxine (Soleirolia soleirolii). It ensures a clear line of sight from room to room through the surrounding glazed walls. Sliding doors, which open up the rooms to the deck, stack over this central cube of green.

Around the pool, the clean ends of hardwood decking continue to form the coping (the protective lip that extends over the pool wall), an idea that’s repeated in the dining and seating pavilions where timber wraps the floor, walls and cabinetry in the alfresco kitchen. Bladed steel beams across the dining area ceiling echo the louvre roof above the outdoor lounge. After dark, strip lighting set into the floor shines onto the fireplace hearth – a theatrical element.

The tailored aesthetic of the existing garden was continued to neaten up the edges of the new building. Across the pool, three pou by Chris Bailey, which represent the three children in the family, turn their faces to the water. Two limewashed pots with topiary tie one side of the garden to the other.

Today, the house is altered and updated but still a monolithic force.

“It was an exciting challenge to be able to work alongside architecture that has an important place in New Zealand’s built history,” says Cattaneo.

The 1970s home has earned a supreme award for enduring architecture from the NZIA. It is well served by its offsider’s respectful response.

This pool pavilion features in Suzanne Turley: Private Gardens of Aotearoa (Thames & Hudson), privategardensofaotearoa.com

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10— The maple tree’s foliage filters sunlight during spring and summer. 11—The internal garden is encased in glass, ensuring a clear line of sight from room to room.

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Green rooms

Project Garden of outdoor rooms

Talk us through the garden. The design utilises fresh, green textural planting and a contemporary black steel pergola with climbing plants – this modernises a family home without the need for expensive renovations. The design breaks the outdoor space into a number of garden ‘rooms’, which provide a variety of exterior living spaces for a growing family.

Designer James Walkinshaw, Xanthe White Design Location Pt Chevalier, Auckland

What was here before? The exterior of the house was beige and dated, and the garden barren. Uneven concrete cobblestones formed a large underutilised space leading out from the living areas, leaving little space for the garden, while the driveway took up most of the front yard.

What did you set out to do? We wanted to create a beautiful entrance to the house.

We reduced the width of the driveway and ran a pergola along the front of the house. The rest of the garden felt crammed and narrow, so we broke it into a number of courtyards that provide depth and corners to sit in.

1— A steel pergola creates form and a structure for climbing plants.

2— Flowering creepers include native panakenake. 3— Fresh, textural greenery softens the path. 4— Japanese maples bring seasonal shifts in colour throughout the year. The bench seat provides a space to sit while children play on the lawn.

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5— Built-in seating creates a corner for contemplation. 6— A rope swing and birdhouse provide charming touches.

7— Dappled light filters through the trees.

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8 and 9— Hydrangeas and Euphorbias deliver contrast and freshness against the dominant backdrop of greenery. 10— The garden modernises the house, creating exterior rooms and places to rest and play.

You’ve created various places to sit.

We utilised built-in seating to make the most of the different-sized garden rooms.

A bench between pergola posts defines the edge of the outdoor dining courtyard, the corner bench of the living room forms indoor-outdoor flow and the bench on the lawn is a spot to sit when the family is playing.

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Tell us about the plant selection. There’s a focus on bringing texture, brightness and dappled light to the garden. We used fresh bright greens and whites, with Japanese maples for seasonal colour.

How does the garden change through the seasons? Fresh greens form the backdrop to the garden year-round, with interest in all seasons, such as apple blossom in spring, hydrangeas in summer, Japanese maples in autumn and hellebores in winter.

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Resort life P H OTO G R A P H Y JAC K I E M E I R I N G

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Project Pool, spa and pool house

What was the brief from the client?

The brief called for a new pool and spa, covered and open decking, a changing room and bathroom, and a pump house.

The design was to create a cohesive resort-like environment in what was a large and poorly utilised front yard.

Architect Andrew Meiring Location Westmere, Auckland

What perimeters were you designing within? There was a large open lawn between the garage at the front of the section and the house, which was set well back to capture light from the north. The house had been recently altered in the bungalow style of the existing design.

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1— With concrete casing, reflective water, timber and a wall of greenery, this view offers layers of texture and interest. 2— Shingles that clad the changing room are reflected in the pool. 3— Mosaics in the spa are a contrast to the concrete of the pool. 4— The owners designed the tropical garden, filling it with palms, bananas and lush greenery. 5— Large stones lead to the changing room. 6— The glass gate leads from the changing room to steps that take you up to the pool.

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How did you connect the new design with the original house? We decided to use the pool as a device to visually connect the house with the garage and simultaneously improve their functional relationship. The pool was designed 1.2 metres above the garden level, to directly connect it to the existing house, provide for pool fencing laws and give it physical presence in the garden.

to the garage structure. The off-shutter concrete finish of the pool walls was used as a backdrop to the lush planting of the moat.

What has been the owners’ response to the design? They are very happy with the overall result and the solar-heated pool is well used through summer and into spring.

Tell us about the material choices you made. We chose to clad the changing room and pool-room structure in cedar shingles, to soften and break down the scale of the existing garage façade, but – more importantly – to materially connect the existing house with its shingled gables

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7— The ‘Contour’ armchairs by Piergiorgio Cazzaniga for Tribu are from Dawson & Co. 8— Homeowner Macayla Chapman strides the covered deck in a dress from her resortwear label Bird & Knoll. This vista is shot from the covered deck, looking from the house to the garage, changing room and pump house, located behind the shingle wall. Andrew Meiring and Chapman designed the built-in seating at left.

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present

You’ve seen the houses in the magazine — now visit them in person

Central Otago: Saturday 19 October

Christchurch: Sunday 20 October

hometourcentralotago.eventbrite.co.nz

hometourchristchurch.eventbrite.co.nz

With official vehicle partner The M ercedes-Benz X-Class

Step into the light: Mid-century enthusiasts gently resurrect a forgotten Christchurch classic

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Rock and a hard place: Henri Sayes floats an apartment on a concrete base in Parnell, Auckland

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Age of enlightenment: Daniel Marshall adds new moves to an early design in Auckland

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Stretch and grow: An addition by Rich Naish for his cousin references their family heritage

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HOMES

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Sunny side up: Pac Studio turns on the sunshine with a bungalow extension

This page Aluminium cladding pings with natural light. The yellow floor in the living area adds to the sunny disposition of the addition to this suburban bungalow.

Opposite Steps leading from the deck provide much greater connection with the garden than was previously allowed.

SUNNY SIDE UP TEXT

Julie Hill

Pac Studio deploys light and fun through materials for a bungalow extension.

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STYLING

Sara Black

Some regard puns – especially egg puns – as the lowest form of wit. But the yolk’s on them, because this bungalow extension in Auckland’s Mount Albert, known as ‘Yolk’ house, features a bright yellow floor – a calculated whisk that shows off the occupants’ free-range thinking (and that’s all the egg gags omelettin’ you have).

According to Pac Studio’s Sarosh Mulla, the sunny hue of the flooring matches the disposition of the owners, who work in media. “Whenever we design, we always try and fold in some aspect of the client’s personality, and they are just super happy, upbeat people,” says Mulla. Pac Studio had formerly been located in a white studio that had a yellow floor, “so we knew it had this effect of making the space feel sunny all the time. Even in winter, it still feels really good in there and in the summer, it just glows.”

From the front, the house is a classic 1940s bungalow on a quiet suburban street, but head out back and you’re in a different time-space continuum altogether. Facing a luscious garden of native plants that attract tui and piwakawaka, a generously proportioned, aluminium-clad verandah, seemingly plucked from the set of The Jetsons, sparkles in the sun, while inside, the golden floor radiates.

The owners have lived in the house for about six years. They have two daughters, one at intermediate school and one who has just started high school: in other words, at an age where they are beginning to appreciate their own space. Pac’s brief was to reshape the back end of the house to create a combined kitchen, dining and living space, plus bigger bedrooms for the girls and a bathroom.

An addition had already been made in the 1970s, which included a kitchen and very narrow deck, with a big bank of stairs leading down to the garden.

“It was terrible,” says Mulla. “It was a strange layout and quite elevated off the back yard – so high up that there was no real connection to the outside. It was like falling off a cliff.”

Above The bay window in the original bungalow frames a view to the established garden.

Right The living area glows with light and warmth. The ‘Pair’ cabinet at left by Peter J Lassen for Montana is from Cult.

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Below Yellow steps clearly define the transition from the bungalow entrance to the new addition.

Below right Uncomplicated in form, the addition comes to life with an engaging palette and choice of materials.

“Whenever we design, we always try and fold in some aspect of the client’s personality.”

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“The cladding gives the most incredible light effects through the day and seasons.”

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The idea was to provide something that was cost-efficient, using readily available materials that would be fast to put down, “but still fun and a little bit more adventurous than a lot of people would be,” says Mulla. A deep deck provides cover from Auckland’s moodier weather, and the indoor-outdoor flow is much improved. “It’s so easy just to trot out onto the grass.

It really is as low as we can get it.”

The aluminium cladding, which lends the house a Len-Lye-Centre-in-the-suburbs vibe, stems from a fascination with the way light works, says Mulla. “With every project, Aaron [Paterson, Pac Studio director] and I try and figure out a new way to manipulate light or shadow. The cladding gives the most incredible light effects through the day and seasons as well. In summer, when the sun goes down, you get this wonderful pink light across the western side of the house and you get it changing all the way through the day.”

Left The ‘Aria’ wall lights

by Astro are from ECC. The ‘Beetle’ chair by GamFratesi for Gubi, ‘Silhouette’ sofa by GamFratesi for Hay, ‘Atlas’ coffee table by Nathan Goldsworthy and ‘Peas’ rug by Hay Studios for Hay, are all from Cult.

Right ‘Gambling on Survival’ by Nigel Brown hangs above the piano; to the right is ‘Witness 1’ by John Pusateri.

Below A ‘PH 5’ pendant

by Louis Poulson hangs above the ‘Ballerina’ dining table by Nathan Goldsworthy from Cult.

‘About a Chair’ dining chairs by Hee Welling for Hay and ‘Shade’ rug

by Begüm Cana Özgür for Nanimarquina are from Cult.

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Left Lancewoods, spindly in their infancy, will grow more robust with time.

Below The cladding, more typically associated with an industrial setting, amplifies the light, which is a boon in winter. ‘Terrazzo’ table

by Daniel Enoksson for Hay and ‘Élémentaire’ chairs by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Hay are from Cult.

Right With its internal golden glow, the Yolk House was never going to go by any other name.

Variations in the form of the verandah add to the light display, reflecting rippled patterns back into the house. A slightly sunken garden at the right of the deck is planted with young lancewoods that will eventually grow through an opening in the roof. “Lancewoods are all spiky when they’re young and as they get to maturity, they bulk up and become much more frothy and soft-leaved,” says Mulla. “They’ll grow properly tall through that opening, which will be really fun.”

The materials, says Mulla, are all about bang for buck. “So plasterboard, and being precise about the way it goes together, and Strandboard – the material under the yellow paint – is about the most cost-effective way of making a floor. And then it’s just a couple of really good pieces of joinery so you get that nice connection from the outside to the inside.”

The sunshiney floor colour is complemented by a kitchen unit in American white oak. “We knew we were going to do the big punchy floor so every other surface has to be white where it’s painted, then we use the kitchen furniture and cabinetry as the textural elements to warm it even more.”

A marshmallow pink ‘PH 5’ pendant by Louis Poulson that hangs over the dining table not only matches the retro-futuristic feel of the deck but, by a happy accident, is the same shade of pink chosen for the bathroom. And the family has other unique art and objects they’ve collected on their travels. “We wanted a calm backdrop because we knew there were going to be good things to display.”

In summary, the eggstraordinary Yolk House is definitely not your average lean-to bunged onto the back of a bungalow, but more of a curious and delightful Kinder Surprise. “We liked the super-sized, slightly space-age lean-to. It’s a little bit tongue in cheek, which suits everyone’s sense of humour.”

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Design notebook

How is all that yolkiness on a summer’s day? Sarosh Mulla— Because we’ve got our big projecting verandah, it doesn’t get oppressive. You get reflected light off the floor nearest the dining table, and the yellow light bouncing off the ceiling is really nice in there, but you don’t feel like you’re on the surface of the sun.

Q&A with Dr Sarosh Mulla and Aaron Paterson of Pac Studio

The owners understand architecture – is this a blessing or a curse when it comes to design? SM— The owner is a super-interesting guy. He’s got great taste in music – his Spotify page is basically our office playlist. And his wife is really funny and smart, so the two of them together were just a treat to work for. They get that part of the process is giving a little bit of space, and letting us show them something new.

Where possible, you’ve used costeffective materials such as plasterboard and Strandboard. How did other materials stack up? Aaron Paterson— Good design is more important than expensive materials. Where budget is a key concern, we focus on getting more bang for buck. This means first getting the planning and interior volumes just right. Then we explore the use of everyday materials composed in fun ways. The painted yellow Strandboard floor and plasterboard walls with raw aluminium exterior all come together in a simple, but fun addition.

1. Entry 2. Bedroom 3. Kitchen 4. Dining 5. Deck 6. Living 7. Bathroom 8. WC

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What do the owners have to say about the new addition to their home? AP— The clients are delighted. The building process always has challenges and this project was no exception, but when it’s completed, it is all worthwhile. The addition complements the existing plan of the house and makes a beautiful connection to the back yard. It’s really lovely to see them enjoying the house so much.

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TOLOVE.CO.N Z

PARTNERED WITH

FOR REAL HOMES, INTERIOR INSPIRATION & DIY HACKS

This page The artwork above the dining table is ‘Conceal/Reveal’

by Dane Mitchell. The artwork to its right is a polished graphite piece

by Matthew Allen. The sofa is by Hans Olsen for CS Møbler.

Opposite A cross brace becomes a feature in the bedroom window.

STEP INTO THE LIGHT TEXT

Jo Bates

Four mid-century enthusiasts resurrect an original design by Allan Mitchener.

P H OTO G R A P H Y

Sam Hartnett

In a cul-de-sac in Ilam, Christchurch, there’s a pocket of six architecturally designed mid-century homes. This unique window into the city’s design style of the time is the result of a 1960s development by Fletcher Construction. Carved from former farmland, the intention was to create a premium subdivision with covenants – the proviso being that the houses would be architecturally designed. But the property market hit a rough patch, the land parcels didn’t sell well and Fletcher’s Utopian mid-century architectural dream was never fully realised. However, the intent did birth a concentration of homes by leading architects, with neighbouring houses and flats by Minson, HenningHansen & Dines, Warren & Mahoney, Don Cowey and Hall & Mackenzie.

And it did give the Messervy family an architecturally designed home, which they may not have otherwise opted for. One that has been preserved thanks to the dedication of Matt and Kate Arnold and its current custodians Prue Johnstone and Nick Cowdy.

The Arnolds had long admired the ‘Messervy’ house before buying it. Kate has family who live directly across the road and, over time, she and Matt befriended the owner Biddy (Elizabeth) Messervy, who shared the original plans and drawings with them over cups of tea.

Biddy had raised her daughters there and was in her eighties when she sold the house to the Arnolds.

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Mitchener took on private projects, one of which was the Messervy House. In the public realm, he designed St Andrew’s church at Le Bons Bay on the Banks Peninsula.

Below left The entrance brings together a mix of brick, blocks and natural colour through a grapevine and ficus.

The original brise soleil provides privacy from the street.

Below The front door opens to a dresser

by Rudi Schwarz.

Right The pivot door opens to the living area.

The woodcut print on the wall is by Tony de Lautour.

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Below The red-brick fireplace works as a subtle divide in the living area. Its flue rises up to the mezzanine to warm the space. The ‘Series 7’ dining chairs are by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen. The ‘Sled’ chairs in the living area are by Børge Mogensen. The ‘Offset’ table is by Philippe Malouin for Resident and ‘Eames’ chair is by Charles and Ray Eames.

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“We bought the house solely with the intention of restoring it and shining light on its beauty.”

Top The vases on the built-in shelving unit are from the ‘Vaso Di Culo’ collection by Piet Parra.

Above right A display of objects captures a shaft of light.

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Right ‘Monster’ by Ronnie Van Hout on the kitchen wall.

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Far right Cabinetry crosses the kitchen window, with cut-outs to views of the garden and park beyond.

Johnstone and Cowdy installed Vola tapware

by Arne Jacobsen throughout the home.

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Left Nick Cowdy makes coffee in the kitchen. He commissioned ‘Paper cuts’ by Ed Bats for the green wall.

Below right ‘Proto 3’ (2012) by Bill Hammond.

The three-bedroom house was designed by Allan Mitchener, who started his career in 1941 as a draughtsman for Gummer and Ford in Auckland, then went on to study architecture at at the University of Auckland. After working in the UK, he moved to Christchurch, where – according to his wife Judith – they found themselves to be “from the wrong side of the tracks” and not fitting the mould of the local establishment. While working for John Hendry, Mitchener took on private projects, one of which was the Messervy house. In the public realm, he designed St Andrew’s church at Le Bons Bay on the Banks Peninsula, which recently won an NZIA award for Enduring Architecture. The panel described the church as “highly imaginative and full of surprises and bespoke details”.

The Arnolds didn’t buy the house for themselves – they already had one, a home by Warren & Mahoney that featured in the June/July 2014 issue of this magazine. Rather, they bought it to preserve its architectural heritage and integrity. “We thought it was really special and we feared for its safety,” says Matt.

“It didn’t have broad appeal. These things, especially in Christchurch, tend to be demolished or altered to make them into a more conventional home, which would destroy the soul of the place. We bought it solely with the intention of restoring it and shining light on its beauty. Kate did most of the work herself. Nothing had really been changed since it was built – the property was a bit rough but it was all there.”

The Arnolds created a website dedicated to the house and its restoration, selling it privately to attract the right buyers. “We really love the house and are proud of the minor part we’ve played in its story,” says Matt. “Our dream was to sell it to people exactly like Prue and Nick who are enthusiasts.”

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The Arnolds repainted the house inside and out using the original colours, put down new cork flooring, replaced cracked windows, hung new linen curtains and Swedish wallpaper, fitted a new kitchen benchtop and generally straightened, adjusted and sympathetically repaired what needed doing. “We did this with the idea of maintaining the original design and materials,” says Matt. “Allan was such a talented architect and I think it’s great that he’s getting some recognition – these guys can easily slip from the history books. He didn’t do a lot of work, but the work he did was beautiful and skilfully put together.”

Johnstone and Cowdy are equally passionate about the Christchurch Style and lived in the Messervy house for several years. They continued where the Arnolds left off, gently preserving and updating in a way that respected Mitchener’s original design. They replaced the tired flooring upstairs with sisal, adding sound insulation between the levels and installed floor-mounted power points in the bedrooms. “The original combination of concrete block and particle board was quite hard acoustically,” says Johnstone.

“We thought the sisal was sympathetic, and it brought warmth to the space, both physically and acoustically.”

They also modernised the bathroom. “We wanted to stay as true to Allan’s design as possible, and kept the geometries throughout the spaces,” says Johnstone. The original shower was in a ‘cupboard’ off the hallway – accessed via a bi-fold door. They kept the line the same, but brought the shower inside the bathroom, carefully reusing the timber beading and

Above left The print in the mezzanine lobby is by Cleon Peterson.

The bench seat is by Tom Dixon.

Above right A ‘Give Up’ tomato lamp by Parra for Case Studyo on a ‘Circus Circus’ stool

by Martino Gamper in the mezzanine bedroom.

Right The prints on the mezzanine wall are by Billy Apple. Johnstone, Cowdy and Phil Redmond in the living area. To the left of the sofa is a white enamel ‘Last’ stool by Max Lamb for Hem. Opposite The barnstyle door leads to the office. The ‘Arazzo’ sisal flooring is from Artisan, and helped with both physical and acoustic warmth.

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Left and below The study and other areas of the home were designed with access to their own courtyards.

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glass so the change was as seamless as possible. They also reconditioned the original joinery, adding a new benchtop, complete with a new round sink to match the original small round stainless bowl.

“The cul-de-sac is a goldmine of beautiful design – it’s a unique little spot,” says Johnstone, co-founder and partner in Johnstone Callaghan Architects. “What Allan Mitchener did was take quite simple mechanisms but used them very successfully – there was art in a lot of what he did. The first drawings he did for the clients were even more experimental – the spaces were arranged around a central spiral staircase. This was reined in, but the design is still exciting with its open mezzanine. The sculptural fireplace and its brickwork is a work of art.”

After their stint in Christchurch, the Mitcheners moved to Auckland, where Allan taught for the rest of his career at the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture, and the couple lived in Mt Albert, in a Chapman Taylor house. Mitchener died in 2007. In the obituary for his former lecturer and close friend, Tony van Raat likened the architect to St Andrew’s: “a real beauty – like the man himself: Spare, modest and rational. Appreciation sometimes comes from the awareness of such essential qualities, often hidden from casual view.”

“There’s glass on three sides, the sun streams in and large sliding doors open into private courtyards.”

Above Allan Mitchener’s angular design is instantly engaging from the street.

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Design notebook

You describe yourself as a glutton for architecture. Matt Arnold— I can’t get enough and Christchurch is a wonderful place for mid-century architecture in particular. There was a burst of creative energy in Christchurch during the 1960s, it had quite a moment, and I’m magnetically attracted to those buildings as they represent the best period of modern architecture in the city.

Q&A with Matt Arnold, of Sons & Co, and Prue Johnstone of JCA

What aspects of the home do you enjoy most? MA— It’s a fun design and an original expression of the Christchurch Style. The mezzanine, which runs diagonally above the double-height living room, is a big feature. Along with the red-brick fireplace that divides the space, it’s a practical heat sink and the exposed flue acts as a radiator upstairs, too. There’s glass on three sides, the sun streams in and large sliding doors open into private courtyards. These are common ideals of how people like to live today, I think, but it was highly unusual in New Zealand at the time.

Do you know much about Mitchener’s other designs? MA— Very little. He didn’t do a lot of work under his own name – mostly while working for others – but everything I’ve seen of Allan’s is good, without exception. There’s a handful of houses scattered around the city and he designed the little concrete Anglican church at Le Bons Bay. It’s well worth a visit and rarely locked – poke your head in, you won’t be disappointed.

4 1. Entry 2. Dining 3. Kitchen 4. Pantry 5. Store room 6. Laundry 7. Living 8. Bathroom 9. Shower 10. WC 11. Bedroom

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What approach did you take to improve insulation, both sound and warmth, in the home? PJ— The same features that drew us to the architecture were ones we had to learn to live with. The combination of concrete, cork and large amounts of single glazing meant the spaces were quite hard. The skillion roof and exposed concrete block meant there weren’t too many opportunities to add insulation. The flooring on the mezzanine was degraded in parts, so we lifted the original particle board and added acoustic batts, new floormounted powerpoints and re-carpeted with sisal carpet. This softened the space aesthetically and acoustically, reducing noise transfer from the mezzanine.

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You are passionate about mid-century design. Why did this home first capture your attention? Prue Johnstone— The unique form was different to anything I had seen in Christchurch. While it shares similarities with other local mid-century houses, it’s a departure from the more traditional gabled forms. I had seen photos of the house while Biddy Messervy owned it and it had always stuck with me.

Inside, I remember being surprised around every corner. The double-height space with the open mezzanine was dramatic and the use of colour throughout makes you smile. A feature of mid-century houses I have long admired is built-in joinery.

The kitchen in the Messervy House is a particular highlight – the joinery floats above the bench and frames views to the garden and park beyond.

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This page The sawtooth roof picks up the industrial flavour of the inner-city area and allows for large-scale roof windows.

Opposite Architect Henri Sayes has created access to light that pours into the interiors.

ROCK AND A HARD PLACE TEXT

Claire McCall

Henri Sayes floats a new apartment on top of concrete commercial building.

P H OTO G R A P H Y

Sam Hartnett

STYLING

Sara Black

Above ‘Screen Time’

by Cam Edward from Black Door Gallery on the kitchen wall. The top of the lone kauri, which stands in the yard by the entrance, can be seen through the sky window. Built-in bench seats provide storage in the living area.

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Top right ‘Tronco’ dining chairs by Sam Hecht for Mattiazzi from Simon James Design.

Right ‘Triple Bounce’

by Cam Edward from Black Door Gallery.

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When you’re presented with an alteration that’s sandwiched between a rock and a hard place, it can feel creatively suffocating. To the north of this two-level warehouse a stone’s throw from the main street of Parnell, Auckland, was a looming concrete-block edifice. Rock. To the south, a rumpty home with Victorian values. Hard place.

For architect Henri Sayes, of Sayes Studio, it felt like operating with his hands tied: a straitjacket of heritage conditions, fire ratings and existing-envelope limitations put the squeeze on. “The building was a dog.

It had a commercial space downstairs and the ugliest upstairs addition, made of wonky 4 x 2, imitation weatherboards and corrugate,” he says. His instinct was to turn on his heel and hotfoot straight outta there.

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“Everything about this job pointed to a dark, dingy outcome. It became all about problem solving – in terms of light, it’s probably the best home I’ve designed.”

Left The kitchen island is a slim slab of floating steel. The ‘Soft Edge 32’ bar stools are by IskosBerlin for Hay. An integrated Fisher & Paykel fridge is seamless behind the white cabinetry.

Below left The ‘Trestle’ dining table is by Tim Webber.

The ‘MC12 Tronco’ chairs are by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin for Mattiazzi.

Below The 92-square-metre footprint contains two bedrooms and generous indoor and outdoor living areas, with views to Auckland Domain.

The ‘Bloom’ floor lamp by Tim Rundle for Resident is from Simon James Design. ‘Washed Woven’ cushions from Città.

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Above and above right Oak is used throughout the home, in the sliding door and cabinetry.

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But not long afterwards, Sayes’ head was spinning with ideas. And he had clients who trusted him to craft a boutique apartment on the upper level.

Here, then, were the set-in-stone parameters: a 277-square-metre section, a floor slab that couldn’t be moved, a wall closer than a metre on the northern boundary and a heritage zoning. “It meant I didn’t get to decide where the building was located on the site, how big it was or even what it was clad in. How could I tease out something poetic and interesting?”

Let’s gloss over the laborious scoping process with council planners who were grappling with the introduction of the Unitary Plan (six months) and the demolition of the upstairs (one day) and get to the good bits. Sayes concentrated his efforts on draping the apartment in light and views. The design, like an addictive game of Tetris, began to fall into place.

What could have been a building in no-man’s land now holds hands with its neighbours in a style that combines industrial influences with echoes of a Victorian cottage. Clad in white fibre-cement weatherboards, it’s at ease in the residential landscape but a saw-tooth roof also channels the commercial.

The lower floor (used as office space) remains a concrete-block plinth on which the apartment

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sits. Upstairs, 92 square metres is planned for cityfringe fun. “The owner was a single guy in his early thirties when we started the design, so we weren’t too concerned about trying to make this a family home,” says Sayes.

A compressed entry with a low ceiling is made welcoming by a wall of oak boards that wrap up from the floor. This central zone contains the services (bathrooms and laundry) and separates the living area from the main bedroom and a flexi room, complete with a fold-up bed and wall-hung bike rack. “This is the cosier, more private side of the home,” says Sayes.

The angular planes of the saw-tooth roof were appropriate but also practical. They allow clerestory windows and skylights so that shafts of light make their way across the living zone during the day. At night, a lone kauri in the front yard, seen through the high glazing, is a stark silhouette.

The living room faces west and the most interesting view. There’s a stand of bush including two gangly monkey puzzle trees that disguise the train line until a pencil-yellow form clickety-clacks from behind the forest. Look south for a peek of the Auckland Museum and north across the university buildings to the city.

The view is so magnetic that it’s easy to miss the vast

Below left Angled this way and that, the powder-coated steel balustrade takes its language from a row of nearby cottages and the saw-tooth roof. Inside, a wall in the multi-flex room accommodates a fold-down bed. The ‘Kashmir’ chair by Simon James for Resident and ‘Offset’ table by Philippe Malouin for Resident are both from Simon James

Design. The curved path leads to the entrance.

Below The car park pad can be seen to the right of the entrance path. The lone kauri towers above the home.

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What could have been a building in no-man’s land now holds hands with its neighbours in a style that combines industrial influences with echoes of a Victorian cottage.

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Above Rock and a hard place: the apartment is sandwiched between a warehouse and a Victorian house.

Top left The ground floor, which is used as an office, forms the concrete-block plinth on which the apartment sits.

Left The deck off the living area pushes beyond the existing envelope.

yet understated storage this room accommodates.

Both sides of the 8 x 6-metre space are lined with it – a bank of cabinetry that continues from the kitchen along one wall; a low, oak-topped bench on the other.

In the evening, a verandah that cantilevers 2.5 metres off the slab is a cocktail deck with an urban outlook. “We pushed the deck beyond the existing envelope,” says Sayes. While enjoying their drinks, Sayes hopes visitors take pause to appreciate the detail on the powder-coated steel balustrade. “They take their language from a row of cottages along the street but also from the saw-tooth. They’re angled this way and that – but delicate – and have a nice rhythm.”

Deliberate angles are a recurring theme: the way the front door and its entry porch slices sideways into

the southern elevation; the sharp, steel-wrapped ends of the exterior walls that are a modern riff on box corners. The interiors, too, carry this through: from the front doormat with its zigzag design to the white kitchen bench, a whisper-thin slab of floating steel. “Everything comes to a point,” says Sayes.

It certainly does. And, at the point the undertaking was finished, Sayes could retreat to the drive-on platform (also designed to host parties and barbecues) that overlooks the property and indulge in some introspection.

“Everything about this job pointed to a dark, dingy outcome,” says Sayes. Yet the shackles honed a purity of focus. “When I had no choice, it became all about problem solving and, do you know, in terms of light, it’s probably the best home I’ve designed.”

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Design notebook

Good clients make good projects and that’s true in this case. Tell us more about that. Not many people would have seen a dilapidated workshop on a sloping, shadowed strip of land and seen the potential. The client drove this project from the beginning with his ability to imagine the possibility of what it could be. He also had a clear vision of what he wanted, and what it didn’t need to be.

Architecture can suffer when people want to cram too many ideas, too many potential scenarios, into a single project.

This project succeeds through its clarity and focus, and that confidence and thinking were led by the client.

Q&A with architect Henri Sayes of Sayes Studio

This was the first time you worked with builder Jared Banks of Master Craft Construction. What were some of the more challenging aspects of the build?

Good architecture can’t happen without a good client, but it also can’t happen without a good builder. This was a really interesting project in that the client, the builder and I were all similar in age and stage. There was real energy that came from that dynamic; we were all focused on making this small project exceptional.

Jared really understood the intention of the project and executed the complexity and detailing to perfection. He made the build look simple, which is hugely skillful.

What have you learnt about designing small spaces? They take just as much time, effort and energy as large spaces, if not more, because everything has to work harder. Every element needs to have functional and aesthetic purpose, and read well with everything else. To me, if you focus on designing for great light, everything else slots into place.

1. Entry 2. Dining 3. Living 4. Deck 5. Kitchen 6. Bathroom 7. Bedroom 8. WC/laundry 9. Parking platform 10. Office

This is quite a small apartment, but the volume and light from the skylights, in particular, give it a scale that belies its modest footprint. Light should be the most important material to any architect, in any project, but especially so for small spaces.

What are your thoughts on the Unitary Plan and how it has opened up new opportunities for design? I was a big supporter of the Unitary Plan and how it should open up opportunities for making the most of awkward and tight sites like this one. I still believe the city needs to become denser, but this needs to be coupled with better design. You’re seeing projects that are making the most of new height allowances, but don’t seem to be adding to their surroundings or creating good internal spaces. The Unitary Plan isn’t going to solve all our problems.

What has this project taught you about yourself? That I’m stubborn? Design is partly about imagining what is possible, and partly about making it so. Sometimes everything seems to work against good design, from planning controls to fire regulations and acceptable solution details. The pressure to compromise is continuous. My role is to hold the line and solve a thousand small problems that threaten to compromise a small or large detail. You do make compromises and take on suggestions from the builder or metalworkers or clients, but a good architect has to maintain the integrity of the project as a whole. I’m sure at times I’ve frustrated everyone, from the client to the builder, but I think the beautiful result is partly due to that stubbornness.

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This page Built in 2003, the concrete exterior of the home elegantly reveals its age, while established trees bed the house into place.

At the entrance, largeformat basalt tiles flow from inside to create a seamless arrival.

Opposite Looking into the sitting room from the gallery.

AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT TEXT

Simon Farrell-Green

Sixteen years on, Daniel Marshall reworks an early design with a fresh new perspective.

P H OTO G R A P H Y

Simon Devitt

Left The original glazing used commercial window suites – glass at this scale wasn’t available for residential projects.

Below The doubleheight space connects the two wings of the house. The ‘Hamilton’ sofa by Rodolfo Dordoni for Minotti is from ECC. The art work is by Pippa Blake. The ‘Natal Alu’ outdoor chairs by Studio Segers for Tribù are from Poynters.

Right Grainy tiles have been laid inside and out.

These steps lead from the living area to the outdoor area.

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In some ways, 2003 doesn’t seem like such a long time ago – until you count all the things that have changed. Sixteen years ago, the world was still reeling from the aftermath of September 11 and George W Bush’s subsequent invasion of Iraq; Helen Clark was New Zealand’s prime minister. Finding Nemo was released at the box office and the best-selling cellphone was the Nokia 3200. The October/November cover of New Zealand Home & Entertaining – the predecessor to HOME – meanwhile, featured a crisp, urbane house in Remuera, Auckland, by a young architect called Daniel Marshall.

At a time when the fashion of Auckland’s eastern suburbs ran to French country or faux-Mediterranean – and the leafy street this home sits on has plenty of that – the house, designed for former All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick and his family, was something of a departure. Accessed down a long right-of-way, the recently subdivided site was sloping and north facing,

with some beautiful established trees and a fabulous view over Hobson Bay and out over the harbour to Rangitoto. “It was extraordinary,” recalls Marshall.

“It was just a paddock, a farm with fence posts and grass in the middle of Remuera.”

Marshall’s response to the site was driven by concrete, which came to define many of his houses in the intervening years. The home featured tilt-slab concrete walls and lots of glass, arranged in an L around a sheltered outdoor living area and pool.

About the time he designed the house, Marshall spent some time in Bali, and while the materials are different, you can see the influence of the Bali villa. “I loved the landscape quality of how they do houses – villas around courtyards, and the relationship with the ground,” he says.

The entry is dramatic – on the diagonal, down wide steps through the point of the L and into a large, double-height space that connects the two wings of

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the house around a fireplace. To your left is the kitchen and dining area with the main bedroom above; on the other, a family room and den with bedrooms above.

Outdoor spaces and the pool – now sheltered by mature planting – are straight ahead. It was a clever move, which turned the back of the house to the driveway.

“It’s something I stole from John Scott, actually,” says Marshall. You enter Futuna Chapel in a similar way, on the diagonal of an orthogonal space – the dynamic approach enlivens a square.

Sixteen years and four owners later, Marshall has just completed a large renovation of the home for a couple and their three children – his third crack at the project. The house had changed over the years – the second owners asked Marshall to design a gym to one side, a wine cellar in the basement and a water feature at the entry. The bones were still there but some of the spaces weren’t quite right for a social family in 2019.

“We loved the light and openness,” recalls one of the owners, of first seeing the house. “It’s so practical living in a house like this with a big family. You’ve got your space and you go to your corners, but you can still see and hear each other.”

Not long after buying, the family spent a lengthy period working in Singapore – a logical time to bring the place up to date. They emailed Marshall to ask who he’d recommend for the project and, to their surprise, he said he’d do it. Not long afterwards, the architect visited the house and ran straight into a frameless glass balustrade that a previous owner had erected at the entry. “Well, that’ll have to go,” he said.

Above and right The en suite off the main bedroom has been upgraded.

Left From floors to walls, art and furniture, the home lends itself to generous scale.

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The work took a year, and while the spaces are broadly in the same place, much has changed. The kitchen, once white and U-shaped, is now a darkly minimalist island arrangement that’s been moved back a step, allowing room for mingling between the island and sliding doors to the outside. Marshall chopped the laundry down, extending the kitchen behind it to create a scullery. The limestone floor – all the rage in 2003 – came up, to be replaced by large black basalt tiles, flamed and ground to a leather-like finish.

In the dramatic living area, Marshall had originally designed a silk covering to disguise speakers and soften the space. He freely admits it didn’t quite work and there’s now an elegantly rendered wall. Outside, the old schist walls were ripped apart, rebuilt, waterproofed and clad with rectangular grey tiles. Upstairs in the en suite, which is open to the main bedroom, separated only by a fin wall, he had to make way for a box to accommodate automated blinds. Overall, the palette

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is the same, but the house feels truer to its minimalist intent. And while it has been updated, it doesn’t feel new, but very nicely preserved. Concrete walls have aged beautifully, the marks of the years showing clearly, and there’s a shield of established trees.

In renovating, Marshall was able to remedy aspects he didn’t feel worked the first time around, and apply new thinking. “I’m an old dog with a few new tricks,” he jokes. In the entry, tiles are now mitred and come up to sit above the window sill so the track isn’t visible; a set of small windows on a northern corner in the family room have been replaced with two large fixed panes that drink in the view.

“The game’s changed a lot and there’s a little more sophistication of detail.”

“Doing big houses like this is a bit like any luxury item, there are a lot of layers,” he says. “It’s a little funny coming back to something you did a long time ago – but I still really appreciate the spatiality of it.”

Left and far left The ‘Lem’ bar stools by Shin and Tomoko Azumi for Lapalma are from ECC. Marshall reconfigured the kitchen and laundry areas to create a long service area hidden from view.

Below The family dining and living area extends off the kitchen. New windows open up the view of Rangitoto and the harbour.

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“Doing big houses like this is a bit like any luxury item, there are a lot of layers.�

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Previous page The view from the family room is filled with a view of the pool and established planting.

Left The family area is furnished with a custom-made sofa, coffee table and rug from Forme.

Below The pool made use of planting instead of fences. Marshall later designed a gym for different owners, accessed off the terrace at left.

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Design notebook

What’s it like revisiting early projects?

It’s a privilege. Often the house has changed hands, so it’s great to still have an involvement. It introduces a level of retrospection in terms of the creative process – you look back sometimes to see the way forward. This was the third time we have been engaged with the house, which has forged new relationships with our practice. It’s pretty cool that a house requires virtually no change after 15 years or so. If you use good materials and finishes, the house patinas rather than ages, and the landscaping beds it into the site. Ideally, the house is still owned by the original clients. In the case of a house on Waiheke for which we won our first NZIA award, the alteration was very small, changing some cabinetry in the spare bedroom/study.

Q&A with architect Daniel Marshall of DMA

1. Entry 2. Laundry 3. Scullery 4. Kitchen 5. Living 6. Deck 7. Pool 8. Spa

Talk us through a few details you’ve picked up in the intervening years and how you’ve applied them here. The more you practice any art, the better you get at it. This relates to the subtleties of detailing, a refinement of how one material interacts with another. A good example is the way we’ve re-detailed the stone steps at the entrance. The stone is mitred and continues up the wall to meet with the structural glass entry. This creates a single sculptural form that seamlessly integrates the exterior, glass entry and interior. I’ve also discovered the value of considering the holistic nature of how a space works, the acoustics, control of temperature, light and privacy.

9. Gym 10. Bedroom 11. En suite 12. Bathroom 13. Side entry 14. Garage 15. Void

You tend to work on high-end projects. Was this direction set when you started out in your practice?

Architects sometimes get pigeonholed, not that I don’t love my specific

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pigeonhole. It certainly wasn’t set when I started out – the first project I did was a bathroom alteration in a villa in Grey Lynn for an actor couple. When I started, there were only a handful of younger architects who were exploring modernist aesthetics in terms of New Zealand residential architecture. I was really lucky with the opportunities I had – some wonderful early projects, of which this was one.

I see all my projects as kind of a family tree, each house has offspring and the lineage continues. For example, each time this house was on the market, one of the potential buyers approached me and we ended up doing a house for them.

Talk us through some of the new materials you’ve used and why you chose them. The floor tile was a big one; I never really liked the original selection, which the client made – it was limestone and had aged badly. Just prior to being engaged for this alteration, we had done a lot of research on various stone tiles for a house we had completed and we settled on 900 x 900mm brushed, flamed basalt tiles. They are extremely long lasting, have a strong but neutral tone, and the brushing makes it feel good underfoot.

I visited Luis Barragán’s own home in Mexico City, and the rustic texture of the basalt felt so good underfoot. Another example is the fireplace area – we were pretty restricted with gas fires in the early part of the century, also the silk panels made to enhance the acoustics of the space were showing their age.

We replaced the jet-master fire with a sleek gas fire and the silk with a specialised plaster that has wonderful acoustic properties. This really transforms the main living room into a much more sophisticated space.

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This page A brick wall lines the southern boundary of the extension that includes a bathroom, kitchen, outdoor room, guest suite, workshop and garage. Danpalon, a product that provides UV protection, thermal insulation and diffuse light is used throughout the extension.

Right Alistair and Jim Blair, with Digby the dog, at the entrance to the cottage, which looks the same from the street as it always has.

STRETCH AND GROW TEXT

Jo Bates

Rich Naish taps into family heritage to extend a character cottage in Christchurch.

P H OTO G R A P H Y

Patrick Reynolds

When Jo and Alistair Blair were ready to extend their two-bedroom cottage in St Albans, Christchurch, Jo’s award-winning architect cousin Rich Naish was the clear and obvious choice to lead the project. Jo and Rich had spent many family holidays together on their grandfather’s property at Kakanui, near Oamaru in Otago, and they grew up playing around his glasshouses. In recent years, Naish designed a tasting room, restaurant and home at Black Estate in the Waipara Valley for Jo’s twin sister Penelope Naish and her husband Nicholas Brown – a long black building in spectacular landscape.

Though it had survived the Christchurch earthquakes relatively unscathed, the cottage – 72 square metres, timber, dating back to the 1870s – had seen better days. Built askew on the site, it had a gaggle

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of service rooms out the back, which led to a long, skinny back yard. “In hindsight, the cottage was in bad shape and it probably would’ve been smarter to take the whole thing down,” says Alistair, “but we like that it still appears the same from the street as it always has.”

The Blairs were very fond of their little house – they loved the dining room, with its white tongueand-groove walls, and were keen to retain it. They also wanted to continue actively living in it, not just repurpose the original home for bedrooms. The brief for the extension was to add a bathroom, third bedroom with en suite, and to create a new kitchenliving-dining arrangement. The two bedrooms (one of which would function as a wardrobe) would be retained in the cottage and living areas reworked.

Above In winter, the living area in the cottage is an inviting, enclosed retreat. To the left of the fireplace is a piece by Hannah Beehre, to the right is an artwork by Andrew Beck. An ‘Eames’ chair

by Charles and Ray Eames and Ercol chair sit either side of the fireplace.

Above Digby on the cottage porch.

Right ‘Eames’ chairs

by Charles and Ray Eames in the lounge.

The artwork at left is by Mark Braunias, the piece at right is by Lisa Reihana.

A ‘Bell 10’ pendant

by Graypants hangs above the dining table.

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The glasshouse faces north, enabling each space to access the sun and garden.

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Above Interior spaces in the glasshouse flow to paved courtyards.

The bricks for the southern boundary wall came from the home of neighbour, friend and landscape architect Robert Watson, who designed the garden.

Left The cottage and glasshouse contrast in palette, form and function, while the garden provides a connection between the two.

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The glasshouse extends from the back of the old cottage to the boundary at the rear laneway.

Left and below Service areas sit behind cabinetry at opposite ends of the kitchen, the laundry at one and fridge at the other.

The new bathroom sits within the timber enclose (below). The ‘Emeco’ bar stools are from Thonet.

Above The kitchen is a large social space that spills to the outdoor room and opens up to the garden. It can get as warm as a glasshouse in here, and when it does, doors and skylights provide ventilation.

The artwork above the built-in bench seat is from the ‘Bloodlust’ series by Heather Straka. ‘Projecteur 165’ pendant lights by Le Corbusier for Nemo Lighting are from Matisse.

Naish’s response was partly practical and partly emotional. “The unusual thing about the site is that it’s very long and narrow,” he says. “But we all grew up playing around the glasshouses and Jo had this nostalgic connection to them.” He designed a long, narrow ‘glasshouse’ behind the original cottage, which reaches down the site to a rear laneway where there is vehicle access.

The structure, also known as “the longest lean-to”, forms an L-shape with the cottage – the form, function, material palette and placement provide a strikingly contemporary contrast to the humble cottage. Dark fine-trussed steelwork, steel sheet cladding and polycarbonate in the lean-to are foils to the white weatherboards of the cottage. The dark cladding draws a sharp line just above the ground – a crisp resolve to the cottage.

But it’s not too rational: a wall of recycled bricks runs the entire length of the lean-to. It’s a unifying element that also provides a strongly insulated spine

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Above The guest suite is located off the outdoor room and will eventually become Jim’s when he’s older.

The art work is ‘Kia Ora’

by Heather Straka.

at the southern boundary. And the bricks have a story too – they were salvaged from the property one along, which belongs to the Blairs’ friend, landscape architect Robert Watson, whose house was damaged in the quakes. Watson designed the Blairs’ garden, creating views in line with Naish’s rooms.

The cottage has been refurbished and the small living room leads into the kitchen in the glasshouse.

The new structure faces north, enabling each space to access the sun and garden. Its triple-cell polycarbonate roof offers high-performing insulation and a gentle, diffuse light.

Life in the glasshouse has worked out a little differently than anticipated. Just as they started on the project, Jo found out she was pregnant with Jim. Now a toddler, Jim has his bath in the laundry tub, located behind cabinetry at one end of the kitchen, and sleeps in what was meant to be his parents’ wardrobe. One day, he’ll occupy the guest suite, which is often used by his doting grandparents. Despite the changes in use, the addition works for the family, and the delightful outcome for Jo is a home that “no one else would build – one that’s completely for you”, she says.

Jo and Al, founders and directors of Brown Bread, a marketing and communications company, certified B Corp and new delivery partner for the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, lead a full-tilt life. With Jim on board, it’s as busy as ever, but the central focus of the home – the kitchen and outdoor room – happily accommodates all and sundry. “Everything happens here; we live in here,” says Jo. “We can cook while our friends sit at the bench and it’s genuinely not stressful because there’s so much space. It’s a fun party space and you end up with enclaves of people dotted about.

It seems much more generous than it is because there are lots of places to go.”

Outside, they’ve planted pears, apples, nectarines and plums to line the fence. The trees will eventually provide shade for the sun-drenched site, privacy at the boundary – and fruit. Jo and Rich’s grandfather would be proud to be honoured in such a way by his family.

The tomatoes growing in the garden might not yet be up to his standards, but they’ll get there.

See this home on HOME Tour Christchurch, 20 October. Turn to p. 150 for more information.

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Above The Blairs are joined by Joanna Norris, Evie and Ollie. ‘Unfold’ pendants by Muuto from Bauhaus hang above the table.

Right The glasshouse addition has increased the home’s footprint to 160 square metres.

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Design notebook Q&A with architect Rich Naish of RTA Studio

1 2

1. Entry 2. Bedroom 3. Living 4. Dining 5. Bathroom 6. Kitchen 7. Garden room 8. Studio 9. Workshop, garage

4

2

3

5

6

The owners have gone from a tiny cottage to a substantially larger home.

How does it work for them? They are a very busy, social family. Jo has a lot of out-of-town business, so she’s constantly up and down the country. They manage an incredibly hectic life with no real boundaries between social and business lives, so while it’s a great entertaining house it’s also, I think, a nice, quiet retreat where they can enjoy their own family company.

You’ve also designed accommodation at Black Estate in Waipara for Penelope, Jo’s twin sister. What’s it like to design projects for family? It has worked well.

My uncle and aunt, Jo’s parents, live in Akaroa and they sometimes come and stay in the studio and look after Jim, as they also do at Black Estate. Both properties work as a triangle for the grandparents to move around. It’s quite interesting as Jo has used our services and we’ve used hers. She’s done the PR and event management for our 20th anniversary exhibition that we’ve just had.

I really enjoy working with my Canterbury Naishs – we always have a lot of fun.

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Talk us through the key materials and why you chose them? The addition is essentially made of steel and glass like a glasshouse. The cladding is sheet steel, the exposed roof structure is steel trusses and half the roof is polycarbonate – like a glasshouse roof but warmer. So, I just let the nostalgia of the glasshouse form and materiality inform the material choice of the addition. This overall material palette contrasted nicely with the white-painted timber cottage, so that there’s a clear distinction between old and new.

What aspect of the home do you enjoy most? I really enjoy the informality and relaxed approach we’ve taken to what was quite a formal little cottage ‘standing up straight’ to the street – the addition is more like – ‘lying down and stretching out’ in the back yard.

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To advertise here contact Kim Chapman, phone: (07) 578 3646, mobile: 021 673 133, email: classifieds@xtra.co.nz

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NOOZI The April pendant is an impressive, woven, bamboo fitting. These pendants look sublime when added to a boho setting or layered in with other textured materials such as hardwood floors, stone, fresh greenery and linen fabrics, to create a natural, coastal look.

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SLOW STORE LANTERN PENDANT (NEW WORKS, DK) – Design by Anderssen & Voll The Lantern Pendant is an elegant combination of iconic from and material exploration. Inspired by the traditional Chinese rice paper lamp, the frosted glass replicates a soft illumination, whilst creating a bold and lasting form.

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To advertise here contact Kim Chapman, phone: (07) 578 3646, mobile: 021 673 133, email: classifieds@xtra.co.nz

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F I LT E R

149

Filter

Home of the Year 2020 Entries are now open for the 25th Home of the Year

150 HOME Tour After selling out in Wellington, Home Tour heads to Central Otago, Christchurch and Auckland

156 Reading room Four new design books, including a visual memoir by Pete Bossley and a global survey of modernist homes

158 Design Denmark A collection of original pieces makes its way to Auckland Art Gallery

160 Be my guest Artist Judy Millar considers the eect of Colin McCahon on the New Zealand identity

162 My favourite building James Warren of Upoko Architects on his fondness for a building with a patchy past

A guest on Home Tour Wellington records favourite design moments in an apartment by Parsonson Architects.

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HOME OF THE YEAR

Calendar of Events

O CTO B E R

• HOME Tour Central Otago and Christchurch • Home of the Year call to entries N OV E M B E R

SUPREME AWA R D

BEST SMALL HOME

BEST CITY HOME

BEST R E T R E AT

BEST M U LT I UNIT

• HOME Tour Auckland D EC E M B E R

• Dec/Jan issue on sale • Home of the Year entries close F E B R UA RY

• February/March issue on sale • Home of the Year judging and international judge events M A RC H

• Home of the Year 2020 finalists announced APRIL

• Apr/May issue on sale • Home of the Year 2020 announced in Auckland M AY

• In Conversation: Home of the Year winner JUNE

• June/July issue on sale AU G U ST

• Aug/Sept issue on sale

Call for Entries Home of the Year 2020 Next year marks 25 years of Home of the Year, and we’re very excited to call for entries to what has become New Zealand’s most prestigious – and lucrative – prize for residential architecture. Since 1996, the magazine has judged the country’s finest new homes – everything from expansive beach houses to brilliant little inner-city dwellings. The award is blind to budget or scale: we are looking for unique intersections between a client’s needs and an architect’s vision.

The award is staged in association with our long-term sponsor Altherm Window Systems. As well as our Supreme award, we’ll be judging entries in four sub-categories – Small, City, Retreat, and Multi-Unit. And for the second year running, there will also be a wildcard award, brought to you by Dulux.

The 2020 awards will be judged by the multi-award-winning Melbourne architects Rachel Nolan and Patrick Kennedy, of Kennedy Nolan, and Jack McKinney. Since starting their practice in 1999, Kennedy Nolan has become known for their thoughtful, richly detailed homes layered with subtle references and memories. And, as part of the Nightingale initiative, they’ve recently started work on a large apartment building in central Melbourne. McKinney, meanwhile, won our Home of the Year 2019 for ‘Diagrid’ house, a daring, raw design built from concrete.

Entries close: 5pm, Monday 9 December, 2019 For an entry form, please email homeoftheyear@bauermedia.co.nz or visit homemagazine.co.nz/ homeoftheyear

homemagazine.co.nz The daring concrete ‘Diagrid’ house in Auckland by Jack McKinney won Home of the Year 2019. McKinney joins us as the local judge for Home of the Year 2020, our 25th award.

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HOME TOUR

Central Otago

HOME Tour 2019 After a wonderful start in Wellington in September, HOME Tour continues across the country in October and November. Next stop Central Otago, followed by Christchurch and Auckland.

The tour features some of our favourite houses – all of which have featured in the magazine in recent years – along with their architects, who will be on hand to talk about their designs.

As well as touring the houses, our friends at Fisher & Paykel – who join the tour as principal sponsor – will be catering to attendees throughout the day in an architecturally designed house, where there will be the opportunity to speak with members of their design team.

Thanks also to our official vehicle partner, The MercedesBenz X-Class, and for providing some tour-goers with the opportunity to test drive.

DETAILS HOME Tour is a self-drive tour of architecturally designed homes. It starts at 9am and finishes about 3pm. Attendees are split into groups, so please let us know if you are booking with friends.

Tickets $75

Central Otago: Saturday 19 October hometourcentralotago. eventbrite.co.nz Christchurch: Sunday 20 October hometourchristchurch. eventbrite.co.nz Auckland: Saturday 9 November hometourauckland. eventbrite.co.nz

Project

‘Cardrona’ hut Practice

RTA Studio Location

Cardrona

Rich Naish’s own family cabin is an exercise in restraint: there’s one main bedroom and a bunk room, plus a small living room and a central outdoor room.

This holiday retreat has everything you need, and nothing you don’t.

Project

‘Kerr Ritchie’ house Practice

Kerr Ritchie Location

Wye Creek Now something of a classic, Pete Kerr and Bronwen Ritchie’s own house and studio featured on one of 2008 covers. A decade on, it’s as engaging as ever: living areas feel as if they hover above the lake; materials are humble but elegantly deployed.

Project

‘Bivvy’ hut Practice

Vaughn McQuarrie Location

Closeburn

Designing for two keen trampers, Vaughn McQuarrie drew inspiration from rock bivvies for this holiday home, which seems to emerge from the very rock on which it sits.

Dynamic spaces create a rich internal experience.

Project

‘Arrowtown’ house Practice

Hofmans Architects Location

Arrowtown

Architect Maarten Hofmans transformed his own humble crib with a carefully detailed addition that embraces family living. Lined and wrapped in timber, the addition sits at an angle to the old, with an intriguing wedge forming the entrance.

Project

‘Binoculars’ Practice

Assembly Architects Location

Queenstown

Faced with a tight, steep site in central Queenstown, Assembly Architects’ Louise and Justin Wright built two narrow houses for one family. Sheltered living areas reach for the sun, while viewing platforms – the binoculars – look out to the lake and mountains beyond.

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HOME TOUR

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HOME TOUR

Christchurch Project

‘HO1’ house Practice

Maguire and Harford Architects Location

Cashmere

This quietly strong home built from raw concrete block and dark-painted MDF is architect Braden Harford’s own home. His design won Best Small Home in Home of the Year 2018 and is the first of two townhouses to be built on the site. The design is an exciting addition to Christchurch’s residential landscape.

Project

‘Cashel St’ townhouses Practice

Coll Architecture Location

Christchurch Central

Instead of building one bigger house on their tiny quake-damaged site in central Christchurch, Mitchell Coll and Amy Douglas built two compact dwellings from Corten steel and ply.

They’re clever and fun – a terrific example of density done well.

Project

‘Abberley’ house Practice

RTA Studio Location

St Albans

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Designing for his cousin Jo Blair, Rich Naish drew on the shared memory of their grandfather’s Kakanui glasshouses.

Built from black steel, Danpalon and brick, it’s a strikingly contemporary contrast to an 1870s cottage.

Project

‘Mpop’ house Practice

Architects’ Creative Location

Sumner

Over several years, architects Kate and Daniel Sullivan have transformed their 1940s concrete ‘bunker’ into a home of texture, light and comfort. A 20-square-metre addition with a glassy ‘pop top’ is clever, employing master strokes of light, and has everything their young family needs now and into the future.

Project

Lyttelton Studio Practice

Bull O’Sullivan Architects Location

Lyttelton

Driven partly by despair at staying in Christchurch motels, Michael O’Sullivan’s combined architectural studio and part-time home sits high on the Lyttelton hillside. It offers delight, comfort, reassurance and spectacular views.

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HOME TOUR

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HOME TOUR

Auckland Project

‘Tuarangi’ house Practice

TOA Architects Location

Grey Lynn Craig Wilson’s design for his own home used CLT prefabrication and a little humour to overcome a steep site, which faces slightly the wrong way, and embraces a beautiful old pōhutukawa. Angular, urban moves are offset by warm timber.

Project

‘Diagrid’ house Practice

Jack McKinney Architects Location

Grey Lynn

Our Home of the Year 2019 is a spectacularly contemporary home in a heritage area, with a 56-tonne concrete roof floating above effortlessly casual living areas. Deliberately raw, you can see the hand of the maker in this house – it’s a joyful place to be.

Project

‘Westmere’ house Practice

Studio LWA Location

Westmere

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Lisa Webb’s own home featured on our June/ July 2019 cover and is an exercise in clever geometry. Built on a former front lawn with a buildable area of just 200 square metres, the home combines playful colour, warm timber and spaces that are exactly as big as they need to be.

Wellington

Project

‘Mt Eden’ house Practice

Guy Tarrant Architects Location

Mt Eden

A finalist in Home of the Year 2018. From the street, white-painted timber windows nod to heritage neighhours; inside, contemporary moves include vaulted ceilings and generous living areas on this tight site. Guy Tarrant at his finest.

They always say you can’t beat Wellington on a good day, and they’re right. HOME Tour kicked off in the capital with a line-up of remarkable houses, from Patchwork Architecture’s cover home of our August/September issue, to the spectacular ‘Skybox’ in Te Aro by the late Gerald Melling, via the clever ‘Pyramid Scheme’

by Patchwork and the beautiful ‘Salmont Place’

by Parsonson Architects.

We climbed a lot of stairs, but they were all worth it.

Thanks to Fisher & Paykel and The Mercedes-Benz X-Class for their support on the first HOME tour of 2019. Please join us on the remaining three tours!

From top Taking in the view from the roof deck at ‘10x10’; the ‘Skybox’ has lost none of its sense of joy; a sunny spot in the courtyard at ‘Pyramid Scheme’; two urbane apartments

by Parsonson Architects.

Project

‘Wynyard Central’ Practice

Architectus Location

Wynyard Quarter

Controlled, beautifully resolved and no doubt a joy to live in, this apartment complex by Architectus won Best Multi-Unit at Home of the Year 2019. A shining example of what apartment living should be and look like in the new Auckland.

F I LT E R

HOME TOUR

F I LT E R

BOOKS One Year Drawn

by Pete Bossley, Point Publishing, $55.

Good reads Design books to read now Atlas of Midcentury Modern Houses

By Dominic Bradbury

Covering more than 400 homes by 290 architects from across the globe, it’s fair to say this book packs a comprehensive volume of modernist designs. From high glamour to humble, it’s a showcase of work by the greats – Marcel Breuer, Richard Neutra, Alvar Aalto, and Oscar Niemeyer – alongside the virtually unknown. You’ll find homes from North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, exquisite examples from Australia, plus two in New Zealand – the Mrkjusich House in Remuera, Auckland, by Brenner Associates, and the McCoy Holiday House in Wanaka, by Ted McCoy. Bradbury dedicates a couple of paragraphs to each house and provides a guide to the condition, its use and status (heritage listed or scheduled for demolition).

The writer is a freelance journalist who specialises in architecture and design, and has authored more than 20 books.

Atlas of Mid-century Modern Houses by Dominic Bradbury, Phaidon Press (Hachette New Zealand), $250.

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One Year Drawn

By Pete Bossley

One Year Drawn is architect Pete Bossley’s personal and pictorial account of his belated gap year, as he sketched and mused his way through Japan, London, Italy, Greece, Stockholm, Finland, New York and Los Angeles.

Leaving his family, and his practice with Pip Cheshire and Mal Bartleet, Bossley’s annum of adventure as a 32-year-old rendered 10 sketchbooks of illustrations and insights. In One Year Drawn, he references these sketchbooks, drawing the reader into his understanding of the key relationship of space, light and composition.

At a time when Thatcher ruled Britain and poste-restante kept travellers in communication with home, Bossley sketched the Duomo in Florence and Le Corbusier’s chapel at Ronchamp, all before mass tourism meant endless queues and crowds. Mostly in black and white and occasionally in compelling compositions of colour, Bossley’s account of his grand tour is visually engaging and deeply personal.

Breaking Ground – Architecture

by Women

By Jane Hall

The publisher succinctly calls it out – that one of the most enduring structures in contemporary architecture is a certain glass ceiling, which has kept all but a handful of women from rising to the top of the profession.

The gross injustices the industry inflicts on women are many and, if there is to be genuine progress, cannot be ignored, but when presented with this book, it’s the 200 pages of phenomenal architecture from all over the world that will make the enduring impression. Spanning the past 100 years, 150 architects and buildings, Breaking Ground is an exceptional visual manifesto of the extraordinary contribution female architects have made to the profession. That this has happened against the odds makes this timely record even more valuable.

Bias towards the male narrative has rendered women in the profession less visible than their male counterparts – that’s if they haven’t already been deliberately edited from history in order to obliterate their contribution.

The author, Dr Jane Hall, was the inaugural recipient of the British Council Lina Bo Bardi Fellowship in 2013 and is a founding member of Assemble, the London-based, Turner Prize-winning collective.

Ezra Stoller

By Pierluigi Serraino

The importance of photography’s role in shaping our perception of architecture cannot be overstated, says author Pierluigi Serraino.

“The silent protagonists of modern architecture are the photographers.

Along with critics, photographers help to establish the eminence of architects, and are responsible for bringing the work of those architects to the masses,” he writes.

So with the focus turned firmly on the photographer, Serraino celebrates the life and work of New York-based Ezra Stoller, who brought the work of many giants of the American modernist movement to the fore – and crafted their enduring mythology.

While the text is the most extensive examination of Stoller’s work, the book does let the images – many of which are in black and white – speak for themselves. There are also rarely published works of the modern masters – Marcel Breuer, Paul Rudolph and Edward Durrell Stone. As well as their buildings, Stoller photographed their portraits.

The author is an architect and educator, who has lectured on postwar American architecture, Californian modernism, and architectural photography, and has written four books.

Ezra Stoller

by Pierluigi Serraino, Phaidon Press (Hachette New Zealand) $250.

Text Jo Bates

Breaking Ground – Architecture by Women

by Jane Hall, Phaidon Press (Hachette New Zealand), $75.

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HOME EVENTS

Denmark Design On display

Q+A with Emma Jameson, coordinating curator of Denmark Design at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

DETAILS

Until Sunday 2 February, 2020 Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Cnr Kitchener & Wellesley Sts, Auckland

‘Danish design’ has become shorthand for a wide range of designers and their work. What does it mean? Danish design signifies an emphasis on quality craftsmanship, simple and elegant forms, and thoughtful alignment with function. Many people will think of modernist furniture by seminal designers such as Finn Juhl and Hans J Wegner, but it also encompasses a wide range of materials and forms that embody those same design principles.

Why did so much classic design come out of Denmark? Danish design evolved alongside the development of Denmark as a country and its vision of the home. In particular, the development of social welfare policies in the first two decades of the 20th century meant that designers strove to create objects that were accessible and useful for everyone, not just the wealthy. In addition, the development of new materials and mass production techniques facilitated the creation of more affordable objects.

While a democratic and functional approach to design was by no means unique to Denmark, the country was distinctive in the way it interpreted

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Designer

Description

Arne Jacobsen

Designed for the SAS Hotel in Copenhagen, the ‘Egg’ chair for Fritz Hansen is Jacobsen’s best-known work.

Year

1956

and enacted this design intention.

The industrial materials embraced by other European nations were slow to become widely available or readily accepted in Denmark and the country was not generally receptive to sudden changes or extremes in aesthetics.

As such, designers stayed away from an industrial aesthetic that was not motivated by human-centred interests.

Instead, Danish designers retained elements of traditional design and revised them for the modern home.

Shapes were altered, techniques changed, but the trajectory of design development was continuously evolving.

So much of contemporary Danish design is considered classic because of this – innovative yet traditional, simple and functional, motivated by everyday needs.

Tell us about the pieces in this exhibition. The exhibition features a comprehensive selection of Danish design dating from the late 18th century right up to present day.

The exhibition has been co-curated

by Designmuseum Danmark and independent curators Michael and Mariko Whiteway, and was initially coordinated to tour Japan. The objects

Designer

Poul Henningsen Year

1958 Description

The ‘PH Contrast’ pendant for Louis Poulsen had 10 shades.

come from a range of private collections in Japan, as well as from the collection of the Designmuseum Danmark. These are original pieces of design history that date from the period of production.

How did you choose which products to feature? The list of objects has been carefully selected from what was originally presented by Designmuseum Danmark and the Whiteways. At Auckland Art Gallery, Denmark Design will be fresh and distinctive from previous iterations of this show. The list showcases key makers and features a wide range of materials: ceramics, silverware, furniture, toys and industrial design. These objects demonstrate the points of congruence and variation resulting from materials, designer intent and functional outcome.

For a long time it was difficult and expensive to import furniture like this to New Zealand. Have you thought much about our relationship to these pieces? In the 1950s, the store Jon Jansen, in Auckland’s Queen’s Arcade, played a pivotal role in introducing New Zealanders to Danish design.

By the 60s, however, increased import restrictions made it difficult and

expensive to import furniture from overseas. New Zealanders already had a taste for Scandinavian design and stores began to emerge that imitated the style, but sold items produced in New Zealand. In addition, several New Zealand designers, such as Garth Chester, referenced elements of Danish design in their own work.

New Zealanders have always engaged with this style of design – even if they weren’t able to access Danishproduced objects. Today, we are again seeing a heightened interest in modern and contemporary Danish design.

Designer

Hans J Wegner Year

1947 Description

With its sweeping back, the ‘Peacock’ chair for PP Møbler is a triumph of ergonomic aesthetics.

If you could only buy one piece from the exhibition, which would you choose? I’ve come to thoroughly love all of the pieces in this exhibition and the stories behind their design, production and use. As a compromise, could I list five pieces? 1. ‘Nässlor’ textile (1944)

by Arne Jacobsen, 2. ‘Peacock’ chair (1947) by Hans J Wegner, 3. ‘Splash No. 118’ earrings (1965) by Henning Koppel, 4. Trinidad chair (1993) by Nanna Ditzel, 5. ‘Ursula’ porcelain set (1991) by Ursula Munch-Petersen.

Designer

Kaj Bojesen Year

1951 Description

Often imitated, Bojesen’s ‘The Monkey’ is a beloved icon of playrooms.

Designer

Verner Panton Year

1968 Description

Panton’s ‘Flowerpot’ pendant is playful and organic – true to its era yet totally timeless.

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HOME EVENTS

F I LT E R

BE MY GUEST

Salutary note Judy Millar Artist Judy Millar reflects on Colin McCahon, his challenging character, and relentless courage to challenge himself, society and his work.

Many events have been occurring around the country to mark the centenary of the birth of Colin McCahon, Aotearoa’s most notable painter. For the opening of one of those events – a new and remarkable exhibition of McCahon’s work currently on at the Auckland Art Gallery – I was invited to talk about what McCahon’s work meant to me.

It’s easy to take for granted a painter who was producing his most important work nearly half a century ago. In our current entertainment-filled world, it’s easy to forget the lives and achievements of those who are no longer around, but McCahon and his work stick with us. It’s a testament to the complexity and necessity of his vision that we go on looking at and questioning his lifetime’s work.

I approached my words for the opening event as a fellow painter. The words were heartfelt because I know the daily toil, the frustrations, the doubt and the sense of aloneness that is part of a painter’s life. Fortunately, I also know the drive that keeps a painter continuing the quest for images that matter.

I was surprised by the strong response to my words, with many people asking for the transcript.

I’ve been reluctant to hand out a written version of what I had to say as it was meant for the voice, not for the page. But since so many have asked, I’ve decided to let it be printed here.

Do get along to A Place to Paint at the Auckland Art Gallery – it’s a no-miss show. And if you’ve never been, head out to Titirangi to visit McCahon House, a small museum in the family’s first Auckland home.

It’s a moving place to visit in this McCahon 100 year.

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“My first knowledge of McCahon came when I was given an assignment at high school to interview a New Zealand artist, with the warning not to try and contact Colin because he was a difficult man. Going on to become a student at Elam it was, of course, this difficulty that drew me – and so many other students – to him. In 1978, when the mainstream newspapers filled with laughter over the Muldoon Government gifting ‘Victory Over Death 2’ to the Australian Government, we knew better. To us, McCahon represented a middle finger to mediocrity; he gave us an intellectual life to aspire to.

Well, that was then – but we are in a different time. So what do we do with his work now, here in Aotearoa, when painting can no longer claim to be a dominant cultural form, when the majority of the population is no longer practising Christians, when we mostly live in cities and have a detached view of the landscape? What do we do with his imaging of this country when we have seen the terrible consequences of nationalistic fervour in so many places, and when our sense of isolation is not as it was?

I have struggled with many of these questions. As a woman, how do I deal with McCahon’s awkward masculinity, with his hectoring religiosity. With all that black, and all that white.

My time as a resident at McCahon House in 2006, helped me to find some of the answers to these questions and renewed my desire to get closer to this difficult figure. I came to realise that, had McCahon stopped working around

the time of his early Titirangi years, he would never have been anything more than a semi-interesting post-cubist – Paris ingested and regurgitated, with local references. But Colin didn’t stop there. He worked on, demanding more and more of himself – seeking that unknown thing – and he never stopped demanding more and more of himself.

Moving relentlessly from one body of work to the next. Taking up things he knew from international art magazines and his travels, but turning them around and drawing new conclusions. For better or worse, he owned his thoughts and shunted them forward. And with every step he took, he got closer and closer to something extraordinary.

It is this that continues to make McCahon magnetic for me: his persistence, his refusal to cave in to self-satisfaction, his relentless questioning of himself and his society.

I know that, as an artist, the most difficult thing is to continue to develop both yourself and your work. We are lucky in this country to have Colin as someone who did.

No one person can show us the visual essence of a land. No one person can define a nation and its people. It would be wrong to let our country be McCahoned, and I’m sure Colin wouldn’t have wanted that. But the enormous courage he had to keep re-imaging what he saw before him can prompt us to continue to re-imagine our place, for ourselves and, therefore, for each other.

So tonight, I celebrate your life’s work Colin, and I salute every artist in the room.”

Above and below Colin McCahon teaching at Elam, Auckland.

Right The Large Jump (1973) by Colin McCahon.

Images courtesy of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o TÄ maki.

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BE MY GUEST

“Several years ago I worked in a central Wellington studio and just around the corner on the opposite end of the park was the Albemarle Hotel. Despite its northern aspect, the building looks like it’s perpetually emerging from the shade. Its inky background is interspersed with beautifully proportioned and finely framed window openings. The full depth of its façade and floral reliefs emerge as if being drawn out from a black pool. It has a presence, it’s very moody and I quite like it.

Photograph Russell Kleyn

F I LT E R

LAST WORD

My favourite building James Warren of Upoko Architects admires a building from a time when they didn’t necessarily express the function they housed, but adhered to visual correctness and good taste.

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The Albemarle was constructed in 1906 at the height of the Edwardian building boom, when many buildings lining nearby Cuba Street were completed.

It’s one of several Wellington buildings designed by architect James Bennie.

It originally housed a temperance hotel but its viability declined during the Great Depression and was later a boarding house, and then a brothel when the area was home to Wellington’s redlight district.

The building is currently empty and in a poor state. I got to see its interior several years ago. It had been stripped of its linings, leaving its jarrah, totara, matai and rimu frame bare. The timber had been stained dark with time, which matched its wonderful and moody exterior.

The Albemarle is from an age when buildings were not necessarily an expression of the function they housed, but adhered to the particulars of good taste and visual correctness. It seems to escape from modern dictums and value management, which are a fundamental part of good design, and it feels free. It’s one of those buildings that represents the possibility of offering something more. It reminds me of the sense of wonder I had as a child when I looked at a building, and the importance of keeping this at heart.

It’s a great building.”

The Home Collection Winter 19 Hand ďŹ nished brass ďŹ ttings & accessories for the home.

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