Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 i Home New Zealand

YOUR CHANCE TO HEAR THE CANADIAN-NORWEGIAN ARCHITECT BEHIND THE FOGO ISLAND INN. Saunders was born in Newfoundland and now works from Bergen, Norway, designing everything from holiday cabins to public buildings. His work is marked by a determinedly contemporary aesthetic that is uniquely rooted in history and context – though he is perhaps best known for his design of the Fogo Island Inn, which was the subject of the award-winning documentary Strange & Familiar. The inn was part of a project intended to revitalise the island’s economy, at the same time as respecting its long-held traditions. Local artisans made everything from the furniture to the bedspreads, and the very design referenced the island’s traditional fishing shacks, at once contingent and charming. CITY GALLERY WELLINGTON, $35 A TALK ABOUT HIS WORK…

Modernist architecture, Eastern and Western philosophies, nature and the human body all informed James Greig’s abstract ceramic art. A retrospective of his work, ‘James Greig: Defying Gravity’ takes the lead exhibition over summer at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt, featuring pieces from his private collection that have never been exhibited. Born in 1936, the Wairarapa-based artist studied architecture, then went on to study pottery under Len Castle, who became his mentor. As an established potter in the 1980s, Greig became well known internationally and was appointed as one of New Zealand’s cultural ambassadors. Revered in Japan, the artist died of a heart attack in 1986 while exhibiting in Kyoto: he was 50 years old. Since his death, two memorial exhibitions of his work have been held in Japan,…

Summer space #2 Utility Shed, Great Barrier Island The land was cheap, which is strange because it’s simply delightful: a long narrow section running down to Little Shoal Bay at Tryphena on the western side of Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf. There’s a grove of pohutukawa and kanuka above the beach and a sheltered little clearing back towards the road. One day, the family that owns this land will build a beautiful little bach designed by Nicola and Lance Herbst. It will be carefully placed in the trees and reached by a bridge over the stream and a long timber boardwalk to protect the roots of the trees. There’s a walk through the trees to a sheltered sandy beach. In the meantime, the family asked the Herbsts to…

After a gentle seaside drive about 10 minutes from the centre of Thames to Thornton Bay, a very steep driveway takes you to the home of Viv Kernick and Kirsty Griffin. If you survive the driveway, it’s then a breathless walk up a zigzag footpath surrounded by a garden punctuated with bursts of colour. Viv – holding Twiggy, a chihuahua cross – meets me at the gate. “I’ll let you catch your breath,” she says. Viv and Kirsty’s connection to the Thames coast goes way back: Kirsty is originally a Thames girl, and her family lives in the town. After a 30-year absence and while still living in Auckland, the couple, who are freelance film makers, bought the land and thought they’d build a “really bourgey weekender” to escape to…

Is the gabled roof really a nod to the nearby public toilet block? Yes. It’s a great toilet block: the roof is an amazing structure. You describe the owners as “serial offenders”. Does that make them easier to work with? Oh God, it’s so much easier – they are now your friends and they give you the most important thing that an architect needs from a client: trust. The family had holidayed on this spot for a couple of years before building – what drew them to the property, and how did their insights affect the build? It’s always really helpful if the clients know the site’s year-round subtleties. The main thing that came out of it was the need to capture as much of the afternoon sun as possible…

 There is something about Mount Maunganui that pulls you away from the sea to rubberneck at the mansions: on family holidays we always drive along Marine Parade and pick a favourite. But it’s not beauty that distracts us – more likely, it might be the diversity of architecture, a trajectory further and further away from the Kiwi bach. I always pick the baches: I get a thrill out of the visual protest of these shabby structures that remain despite being overshadowed by neighbouring palatial holiday homes. Yes, I would own a bach and tend to it and, despite all offers from multimillion-dollar property investors, I would leave it exactly as is. When Heather Coyne and Mark Winter bought a piece of land right in the middle of Marine Parade in…

What are the key considerations when designing a house by the sea? Coastal homes need to withstand a much harsher environment, both from wind and sun, and also salt and even sand deterioration. The interior should allow for sandy bare feet! Low-maintenance materials that look better with weathering are going to assist relaxing at the seaside. Apart from the desire for living to be on the ground level, what else did the clients want from their beach home? The clients sought a casual and comfortable family holiday home, being self-professed non-minimalists. They wanted to take advantage of the sea views, but also have ways to shelter from wind and harsh sun when needed. What were the key design components to creating this family beach house that caters for plenty of…

Designer . . . . . . . . . .Yvette Jay Architect. . . . . . . . . . .Gerrad Hall Photography . . .Tash Hopkins Location. . . . . . . . . . .Bayswater, Auckland Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A new kitchen for the childhood home of Sir Peter Blake, which has been in the family for 70 years. This house has a fascinating story. Could you please share it with us? HELEN LITTLEWOOD We bought it from my husband’s [Mike] grandmother 12 years ago. Nanna and Poppa brought up their four children here, Jan (Mike’s mum), Peter, Tony and Liz. The house was in original condition, including the kitchen.…

This might be my first issue as editor, but HOME and I go way back. In the February/March 2002 issue, I wrote my first story for the magazine on a little house in Westmere by architect Nicholas Stevens – which came about after I wrote a parody of the magazine in the university student magazine Craccum. As HOME’s deputy editor Penny Lewis wrote on the contributors’ page below a very youthful photo of me, “We felt naff and flattered at the same time.” Fifteen years – and lots more houses – later, I had one hesitation in accepting this job: there was bugger-all to fix. For 11 years, Jeremy Hansen ran this magazine with a discerning yet gentle eye. As he did so, he created one of New Zealand’s most…

The NZIAs biannual conference, In Situ, attracts diverse and thought-provoking international architects and 2017 is no exception. The star attraction is undoubtedly David Adjaye, the British-Ghanaian architect, who will give a keynote address at the conference, as well as deliver a public lecture on Thursday 9 February at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre. Adjaye was born in Tanzania, the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, and lived in Egypt, Yemen and Lebanon before moving to Britain at the age of nine. His early work was often characterised by collaborations with artists in London’s East End, as with the 2002 ‘Dirty House’ in Hackney, a forbidding building of artists’ studios and apartments. In 2007 he designed ‘Sunken House’ for photographer Ed Reeve; a crisp cube sunken into its site. He also collaborated with…

 Against a white wall painted not quite to the ceiling so that bare lining hovers like a strip of beige sky above her studio, Kim Pieters props one of her latest works on an old crate and a couple of Resene tubs of house paint. Its surface is a kind of dusty pink, marked with her characteristic little interventions: small scribbles, blots of paint like colour tests. The painting seems to float, slightly ethereal – a silence in a room filled with books, brushes and pencils, heaters, floodlights, cut flowers, and Pieters’ poised, intense presence. Pieters is a long-time Dunedinite, a fascinating artist whose slow-burning career is finally getting traction further north. Her studio occupies a faded, weather-beaten beauty of a building with huge windows in Dunedin’s industrial harbour area.…

 I was due to fly to Rome for a few days with some friends when I received an email from a fashion magazine asking if I’d be interested in photographing backstage at a Dior cruise show near Cannes. Not really being someone who follows the fashion world, I wasn’t aware of the ‘cruise show’ concept. Had I been following the fashion press, I’d have known that just the week before, Louis Vuitton had staged a cruise show in Palm Springs – in recent years the big fashion houses have started showing their so-called ‘cruise collections’ in increasingly exotic locations. Initially, I’d thought that a cruise show was simply a catwalk show on a boat for a group of rich Dior clients. I wasn’t super keen on the idea. Plus,…

Summer space #3 Staircase, Waiheke Island “I find at parties you’ll say, ‘Right, we’re leaving,’ and one of you will go to the door and then the other one has struck up a new conversation,” says architect Mike Hartley of Lloyd Hartley Architects who, together with Ben Lloyd, designed this new stair on the back of an existing bach on Waiheke Island. “At which point you have two options. You can be a grumpy old git and leave, or you can rejoin the party. Neither is ideal.” Like many baches, the house was less about arrival and departure, and all about the view. There was a small wooden deck and a front door that opened into a rumpus room (“Rumpus rooms can be fabulous,” says Hartley, “but not when they’re…

What were the most challenging aspects of designing this home? The power and drama of this site is immense, the challenge was to do it justice. Now that’s it’s finished, what do you enjoy most about the design? The random photos that Kirsty and Viv send me from time to time – so beautiful. Are there lessons here in how to maximise living in a relatively small space? Absolutely – just go to New York! The wind and other elements can really kick up a fuss here, how does the house manage? Like all of us in a crisis, she gets a bit moody, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. While living in their tiny New York apartment, Kirsty and Viv decided that they had to get back…

Were you surprised when Mark and Heather decided to remove the original cottage? When we designed the rear house, the understanding was that, at some stage, the question of their use of the original cottage would need to be addressed. But it was clear the occupation of the overall site would be key to understanding what to do with the original cottage. Mark and Heather planned to use the new building as their permanent home, whereas the rear house was meant for more casual occupation. How did this affect your design? The rear house was designed primarily for summer holiday use, and it became clear that it was unsuited to the demands of year-round living, while the original cottage turned out to be unsuitable as a work environment or overflow…

Architect. . . . . . . . . .Jessica Barter, Bureaux Photography . . .Simon Devitt Location. . . . . . . . . . .Titirangi, Auckland Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A new kitchen for a late 1960s house owned by photographer, Simon Devitt. Simon, you photograph architecture for a living and lecture on architectural photography at the University of Auckland. How did you choose your architect? Jessica and I have been friends for a long time. Bureaux does beautiful bespoke interiors – I’ve shot a few over the years and really love their work. It all went beautifully. It helps when your architect understands interiors as much as Jessica does. You’ve lived in…

Our 2016 Style Safari programme wrapped up in Christchurch in late October, touring the city’s best furniture showrooms, guided by HOME’s new editor Simon Farrell-Green. It was a beautiful spring day which showed the city at its best. We started at Bo Concept for pastries and coffee, where Annalise Murrell introduced us to the brand – which has only been in Christchurch for 18 months – and took us through their new ranges. Then it was off to ECC, where the legendary Debbie Quy shared experiences from the Milan Furniture Fair: mucky brass and matt finishes are in and navy is here to stay. (Appropriately, we finished with a shot of limoncello.) We then headed back to the city for lunch at Chinwag Eathai, before heading to Auckland designers IMO’s…

1 —‘Melody’ bookcase by Neuland Industriedesign for MDF Italia An update of the 2006 white-on-white model – the ‘Melody’ bookcase now has the added option of a colour-contrast backing in dove or medium grey, giving sophistication and depth to the dramatic lines. 2 —‘Monolith’ by Geberit for Agape The last frontier for display and storage – the loo! Not only a stylish combined cistern/ storage but a really beautiful way to install an in-wall system without the inconvenience of major construction. 3 —‘Edouard’ sofa by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia It’s rare to find a stylish contemporary sofa with a high back – Antonio Citterio has succeeded magnificently with the ‘Edouard’. 4 —‘Hanami’ pendant by Adriano Rachele for Slamp ‘Hanami’ is a combination of Lentiflex, a new pliable glass substitute,…

“I think it would be hard not to love this building. Visually it’s striking and beautiful, but without being grandiose. There is a crafting in its design, in the extraordinary woven tukutuku panel that greets you on arrival, and the feeling of usability and warmth in its spaces that make it feel special. It’s a community space, a public space – and a manifestation of Maori and Pacific culture in its design and function. I’ve been thinking a lot about it recently because, next year, Objectspace moves from its long-time home on Ponsonby Road to a purpose-designed building by RTA Studio in Grey Lynn, with new exhibition spaces and an expanded focus on architecture and design. Te Oro, for me, embodies what we all want so greatly in a public…

SIMON WILSON Our regular contributor photographed two features at the beach ( p.50 and p.92). Does photographing architecture come with the occupational hazard of wanting to create or rework your own home? It’s great to spend so much time with residential architecture, a treat often reserved for the owners. Talking with architects and owners I am constantly learning and it certainly makes it hard to go home to our very original ex-state house. A new build is certainly in the future – until then we are doing a test run and building a cabin in Northland, designed by the talented Ben Mitchell-Anyon of Patch Work Architecture. You shot a Waiheke holiday home by John Irving and the design spread on Auckland’s west coast – will you be going coastal yourself this…

La Grande Motte literally means the big clod? Yes, that’s the literal translation. It sounds much better in French. Jean Balladur must have been the envy of many a French architect in the 1960s. He got to build a completely new town along a swathe of untouched Mediterranean coastline. What’s more, he built it to his own singular vision: a mix of pre-Columbus pyramids and pre-fabricated and moulded concrete structures, inspired by a visit to Oscar Niemeyer’s Brasilia in 1962. You have your upcoming exhibition ‘La Grande Motte’ at Precinct 35 in Wellington. Why did you want to photograph the town? La Grande Motte is a surreal futuristic experiment. It was built in the spirit of optimism; a sort of utopian concrete cityscape. The buildings are very sculptural and I…

Summer space #1 Architects’ own home, Belmont, Auckland Nearly a decade ago, architects Julian Mitchell and Rachel Dodd were living in a one-bedroom flat in Devonport, Auckland, with a second baby on the way when they found a crumbling duplex on a gently sloping site for sale in nearby Belmont. They nearly didn’t buy it, but one thing appealed: “The price,” says Mitchell. “It was the only thing we could afford.” The house was a little plaster box in the middle of a grassy lawn. Inside, it was a confounding mess of passageways and small, pokey rooms. There was no connection to the outside, and nowhere to sit once you got there anyway. The first thing they did was build a big covered deck using recycled kwila, salvaged from the…

The etiquette of engagement with surroundings can be fraught for beachfront homes. Too much of an exposed fish-bowl design and you’re on view to everyone passing by; too fortress-like and you’re at risk of cutting yourself off from the view and being, let’s face it, rather unfriendly. When the beach in question is on an island that frequently makes international traveller must-visit lists, then privacy can become quite an issue in the heat of summer when beachgoer numbers swell. When John Irving of Studio John Irving designed this beach house for clients at Oneroa on Waiheke Island, he was already aware how the family of five – a couple and their three young sons – like to live. Jokingly describing his clients as “repeat offenders”, Irving had designed for the…

What was it about the piece of land that enchanted you in the first place and how does the design respond to that? It was the quality of the light bouncing off the harbour, and the birds, and the fact that the land was being sold by a farmer/landlord, not a developer. And that the land was both remote but not too remote; private, but I could see neighbours. The decision to use tents on a deck instead of a permanent building for extra accommodation is inspired, though sadly quite rare here. How did you came to that decision? I find this question funny. I got the idea from my Kiwi friends, who described their Christmas visits to baches as one of bringing tents and camping on the beach. And…

Omaha, the beach, is a particularly lovely stretch of white sand, one of those perfect crescents on the east coast of the North Island with gentle rolling surf that’s never too large but always seems quite nicely formed. Omaha, the settlement, dates back to the 1980s, when the northern end of the bay was developed for housing, followed by a large development in the early 2000s where a number of sophisticated beach houses have been built in recent years. Like many New Zealand beach-side settlements, the streets aren’t exactly pretty: baches, like our houses, grow ever larger, craning over each other, pushing up inside height-to-boundary rules to clutch at a peep of view, placing living rooms on the second level for the same reason, even though the place is dead…

The clients of Annika Rowson from Rowson Kitchens & Joinery had made the decision to retire from their farm and move permanently to a new-build home at Oakura beach in Taranaki. Their brief specified a textured and raw aesthetic kitchen that blended seamlessly into the open-plan living space. Annika designed the kitchen to include a careful balance of matte black and white, plywood, stainless steel and concrete, with the hero surface of the palate being the Corian® Cirrus White bench top. Corian® Cirrus White has a complex creamy-white base with tight white veining, sprinkled with tiny, barely there particles that catch the light, providing the necessary visual texture without overwhelming the other components of this kitchen. Corian® was used on the main island benchtop and corner block as well as…

Designer . . . . . . . . . .Shane George, Kitchens by Design Photography . . .Jamie Cobel Location. . . . . . . . . . .Freemans Bay, Auckland Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sleek design to suit a 1972 townhouse. Improved workflow and stainless-steel benchtops. What was the starting point for this design? CLIENT I’ve lived here for eight years. The previous kitchen was from the early 90s. It was functional, but tired and had no charm. SHANE GEORGE The compact townhouse has a 1970s vibe and we wanted to work with that, but with a more contemporary twist. So we kept the main kitchen very simple and sleek, offset by original…