Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2018 i Home New Zealand

The last time we faced a housing crisis of this magnitude was after World War II, when thousands of returned servicemen wanted to settle down all at once, and when my grandparents finally found somewhere to rent in 1949, not long after they got married. The half villa on Gillies Avenue in Epsom, Auckland, was cold and draughty, but it was home. Over the past few months, I’ve often wondered what they’d make of the mess we’ve made, again, of housing – only this time, we don’t even have a war to blame. We’ve failed to think about land supply or density. We’ve failed to think about financing. And we’ve failed to think about how and where new homes should be built. Moreover, we’ve made our houses too big and too…

From Wellington brothers Leonardo and Lorenzo Bresolin, who gave the capital city Scopa and The Bresolin, 1154 Pastaria is a new eatery offering a casual dining experience. “We didn’t want it to be that stereotypical Italian restaurant,” says Leonardo, “so we’ve used tiles and traditional colours in a different way.” What’s the vision behind 1154 Pastaria? LEONARDO BRESOLIN A place that makes fresh pasta daily, cooking all the classic dishes everyone can relate to, with a strong focus on quality organic, natural and free-range ingredients from New Zealand suppliers. It’s a fast-casual eatery where you order on arrival. The restaurant is in the 1920s Hallenstein’s clothing factory – what heritage elements have you kept? The three stained-glass window panels and front doors were all that were left for us, so it was important…

Greek fabulist Aēsop knew how to tell a memorable story and the skincare brand that takes his name similarly makes a lasting impression. The brand’s first Wellington store, designed by Rufus Knight, draws on the building’s own history. The result is a space that quietly celebrates the character of the neighbourhood it inhabits, says Aēsop’s retail architectural manager Denise Neri. The moral of the story? Be a good neighbour. The store is located in Change House, which was built by the Brandon family in 1932, with a façade that incorporates art deco elements and the Chicago School. Recently added partitions to the inside corner of the building were removed, allowing original lines to speak for themselves. Textured cream walls and fruit-wood chairs with moss-green velvet add gentle layering. Knight also took inspiration…

At this year’s Milan Design Week, deep, dark tones continued to go from strength to strength, demonstrating that this striking look is here to stay. While darker tones – especially black – command attention, the downside has always been the susceptibility to fingerprints and scratches, especially with children using the kitchen. Fortunately this is no longer an issue, thanks to Fenix – a new generation of nano-technology surfaces, created by Arpa Industriale in Italy. Proving to be the darling of Milan Design Week 2018, Fenix was seen on benchtops and cabinetry in tones – including a deep black – inspired by nature. With low light reflectivity, the Fenix surface is extremely matte and opaque, fingerprint-resistant and pleasantly soft to touch. Superficial micro-scratches can easily be repaired thermally, which means your…

Tom Kreisler was an enigmatic figure in the New Zealand arts community. Born in 1938 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he came to live in New Zealand in 1952 where he studied art at the University of Canterbury’s School of Fine Arts. In the late 60s, he moved to New Plymouth with his wife Lesley to teach art at New Plymouth Boys’ High School, make art and raise a family. Tom’s work was considered strikingly original with its almost cartoonish style and he’s my personal favourite of the period. He died in 2002 at the age of 63. By chance, while holidaying on Great Barrier Island,  I met Tom’s widow, Lesley. Their Medlands bach is the one I’d always wanted to see inside. Modest, yet romantic, a garland of spinifex is strung…

“We had an existing relationship with the developers Stu and Mel Pinfold, who live across the road,” says Louise Wright of Assembly Architects, which designed ‘Stackbrae’, a 31-house subdivision just outside Wanaka. “They wanted to create a well-designed subdivision without slowing things down. So we came up with a new development model.” How is Stackbrae different to other subdivisions? Subdivisions with covenanted design control tend to produce good design outcomes, but often come with slow and expensive design-approval processes. At Stackbrae, the buyer purchases a section with a building consent, and is covenanted to build in accordance with that consent. The design work and consenting is usually complete when the owners purchase and they can start building almost straight away. Design wise, what was the pitch? First, we ignored the district…

Project Aria Apartments Architect Toa Architects Location Ponsonby, Auckland Brief Affordable inner-city living on a challenging pocket of land. The heart of Ponsonby is not the first place you’d think of for affordable housing, let alone one that’s dense, fine-grained, walkable – all those magic words used in urban design. But Takapuna-based Legacy Property was drawn to Vinegar Lane, an innovative development on the 1.3-hectare hole on the site of the former DYC vinegar factory, where varied architecture on small sites reflects the charm of the old neighbourhood. “We wanted to have a slightly different building at a more affordable price point that wasn’t available in Ponsonby before,” says Legacy’s Mitchell Jefferson, of the corner site, which forms a sort of entrance to the precinct. “Other projects were selling at…

Architect PAC Studio Location Eden Terrace, Auckland Brief Explore a cooperative housing scheme for a tight inner-city site. “There is a genuine buzz about the potential of cooperative housing. A scheme we did for an Auckland-based collective explored a development with no individual car parks and provision for two shared cars. We worked with the idea of an Uber account paid for by collectively owned leased, ground-floor shops – space normally usurped by parking. The top-floor apartments were two-storey lofts with light-filled communal atriums. The project never left the ground for various reasons, mostly due to the challenges of wrangling a diverse bunch of people at different stages of their lives. We are working on new schemes with different clients and many others are trying to incorporate cooperative ways of…

What did you know of the ‘Corner Flat’ before you worked on it? Having known the family most of my adult life, I was well aware of its qualities. While its presence on the street is modest, its reputation was much larger, being one of only a handful of original houses by E A Plischke. What’s the most striking thing about Plischke’s original design? The flat completely transformed the arrival sequence to the main house. Its form obscures the house and garden from the street thereby creating a private haven, screened from the street and sheltered from the wind. Once through the entrance street door the secret garden, house and the flat’s lobby are revealed. You experience the unexpected coupled with the appreciation of a special environment. It was almost completely original…

AUGUST • Aug/Sept issue on sale • Design Awards entries close SEPTEMBER • In Conversation launches at the NZIA Festival of Architecture OCTOBER • Oct/Nov issue on sale • Design Awards announced NOVEMBER • HOME Tour, Auckland DECEMBER • Dec/Jan issue on sale • Home of the Year entries close FEBRUARY • Feb/March issue on sale • Home of the Year judging • Home of the Year lectures MARCH • Home of the Year finalists announced APRIL • April/May issue on sale • Home of the Year announced in Auckland JUNE • June/July issue on sale • Design Awards call to entry…

Semi Permanent Aotea Centre, Auckland August 9–11 How did you get started in design? We met, fell in love, and have been working together 24/7 for 18 years. What’s in the studio right now and what’s coming up? Our studio is situated in a 1925 pump station, right next to the Rijksmuseum. The complex consists of a 3D-printing workshop, a workshop, guesthouse, our studio including a dining room and meeting room, and a 650-square-metre garden designed by the most famous landscape designer in the Netherlands, Piet Oudolf. Our ‘Lydkraft’ collaboration for Ikea will be in store from August. Why do you do what you do? We’re always super enthusiastic about delving into a material, a craft and a brand, in combination with an assignment. Stefan and I work as a team.…

There are always conflicting messages about what constitutes old. Old is a moveable feast, always under revision, subject to the influence of individual cases. We often settle for ‘you’re as old as you feel’ because it’s a lot more comfortable than ‘you’re as old as you look’. Only a pragmatist says ‘you’re as old as you are’ and they are rarely thanked for the sentiment. Age and self-delusion, it seems, often travel hand in hand. Houses are similar. A house can look old and a house can feel old. These are two different things, both of which are easier to deal with than the realisation that your house is old. My house has never been old. It was designed from the outset to be new and modern. This is because I’ve been lucky…

I grew up in Dunedin and my first visit to the Embassy was 10 years before I moved to Wellington. It was for the opening night of the Film Festival in 1985, the year the Embassy became the festival’s Wellington home. I remember it as a magnificent place to see a film, even if the building, inside and out – like all the grand picture houses in 1980s New Zealand – was a bit neglected and tired. Nevertheless, the renovations of the 1960s had left the downstairs an empty shell (now a great pair of smaller cinemas and a classy bar), which did service as a great orchestra pit with superb acoustics for the much-appreciated live cinema events. Back then, the sought-after row A had the added bonus of the…

Michael Moore-Jones Michael found a home and education in a flat designed by Ernst Plischke and built by his art-collector grandparents Frank and Lyn Corner (p.126). What was the best part about living in the ‘Corner Flat’? There’s something truly special about the flat as a retreat, despite the fact that it’s essentially in the middle of Wellington. Living there was an opportunity to engage with the history of New Zealand’s art, architecture and design. Reading Plischke’s book Design and Living in a space he designed, or Professor Leonard Bell’s recent book Strangers Arrive, surrounded by examples of émigrés’ contributions to our culture, made it all so much more tangible. Tell us about writing of a place that’s so close to you. Some of my earliest memories are of this…

New York-based New Zealand designer Lucy Tupu and Max Gimblett have developed a range of 12 rugs from the artist’s lesser-known ink-on-paper works. How did the project start? LUCY TUPU Max and I met in the Fall of 2016 in New York at a Kiwi event. Being a huge fan of his work, I immediately introduced myself. During our chat, I mentioned I would love to visit his studio – the following week we were sitting together in his Bowery studio of some 30-odd years and began discussing a collaboration. I knew this was an incredible opportunity and a very special chance for me to work alongside Max.  You drew from Gimblett’s work on paper – what was the appeal? His colourful paintings have deep roots in the New Zealand…

The fact that New Zealand’s premier pottery prize, the Portage Ceramic Awards, was won in 2017 by a teapot, seems initially like a pretty dreadful condemnation of the state of contemporary New Zealand ceramics. But there are teapots, and then there are Richard Stratton teapots. “Anna Miles [Stratton’s art dealer] says I’m teapot-hardwired,” Stratton tells me, sitting in his Wellington studio. “It’s one of my go-to forms. I get on the wheel and think, what am I going to make, and it turns into a bloody teapot!” His teapots, and his vessels in general, are things of domestic wonder. His prizewinning ‘Forced turn Teapot’ is a proto-Brutalist object made from interlocking pieces – like cogs fallen out of a giant Soviet-era clock. The colour, somewhere between black clay and Corten…

Project Taranaki farm house Designer Paul Rust Location Taranaki Brief A crisp modernist pavilion for a stunning rural setting. Faced with spectacular views of the Tasman Sea in one direction and Mount Taranaki in the other, New Plymouth designer Paul Rust made the entirely logical – if admirably brave – decision to open every room up to the view. Built for clients on a working farm in Taranaki, the house has no neighbours to speak of: nothing to interrupt the mesmerising views in all directions, which meant Rust was free to produce a classically modernist T-shaped pavilion, with floor-to-ceiling windows in the living and bedroom areas. It sits lightly in the landscape, the rolling Taranaki hills seeming to pass right through. It’s a simple, reductive plan: garage and mudroom on…

With its prototype ‘Fernmark 56’ modular house about to spring from the ground in Wanaka, Fernmark – made up of Giles Barker, Graham Barry and designer Matt Smith – aims to design high-quality, fast-assembly homes. Smith explains the concept. What prompted an industrial/furniture designer to scale up and design houses? I studied industrial design at Monash University, focusing on furniture design. Friends asked me to design a house for them in Wellington and I’ve now done houses in Matakana and Christchurch. The Fernmark concept came from my co-director Giles Barker (a former advertising and design executive), who could see a better way of building, and he enlisted me in its development. How can the Fernmark house be assembled on site by two low-skilled people? And how can council building inspectors approve them? Giles’ concept started as a…

In Conversation is an exciting new series of events for HOME readers, involving talks on architecture and held in convivial surroundings. Please join us for Allpress coffee and Amano pastries at our launch event, where you’ll meet Lance Herbst of Herbst Architects, whose Piha house won Home of the Year 2018. The talk is brought to you by Altherm Window Systems and is part of the NZIA Festival of Architecture: we’d love to see you there. THE DETAILS Multi-award winning architects Lance and Nicola Herbst moved here from South Africa 16 years ago and rapidly built a name and practice around their thoughtful, beautifully crafted timber buildings. In doing so, they redefined what a New Zealand building might be. Both ephemeral and solid, their houses engage with landscape and weather…

Design— From New York to Venice, Wellington to Auckland, and a few places in between, you’ll find much to celebrate in design.…

Tane Williams and Emma Lyell rehabbed a classic when they took over the space that is now Bestie, at the sunny end of St Kevins Arcade on Auckland’s Karangahape Road. They recently opened their second cafe, Baby, which is tucked away down a side street in Eden Terrace. “It’s been great discovering Eden Terrace as a little design enclave,” says Williams. “The area is crammed with shared spaces and design-minded businesses – hopefully Baby complements this and provides something yummy for lunch.” You’re hidden away here. What was the attraction? TANE WILLIAMS The kitchen. We’ve always made everything in-house at Bestie but were limited by the small kitchen – trying to bake nice cakes during a busy service was getting to be a bit of a nightmare. The kitchen here…

In 1962, the same year the company was established, Flos produced several lamps that were to become classics. Designed by Achille and Piergiacomo Castiglioni, the Arco, ‘Relemme’, ‘Toio’ and ‘Taccia’ are all still in production today. Characterised by their dedication to high-quality design and production, Flos continues to create remarkable pieces – beautiful designs destined to become classics. The company works with a number of designers, including the London-based, Cyprus-born Michael Anastassiades, who is celebrated for his pure, sculptural lighting forms. Recently arrived at ECC, ‘Arrangements’ by Michael Anastassiades for Flos beautifully demonstrates the designer’s balance between artistry and technicality. Deceptively simple, yet meticulously detailed, the work betrays his training as a civil engineer and industrial designer. “I’ve always been fascinated with the parallel that exists between lighting and jewellery,”…

Regardless, it’s likely that we will see an upswing in building over the next few years – thanks to a pent-up shortage of housing, changes to the Auckland unitary plan and now, KiwiBuild. In short, new housing is coming to a suburb near you, and it probably won’t look like houses used to. It’s a remarkable turnaround. In the August/ September 2016 issue of this magazine, we ran a special called Density Done Well, making a case for living closer together. Two years later, it seems that argument has been won – begrudgingly in some quarters, admittedly, but few would debate the need for density around transit networks and better use of precious city land. Now, the missing element to the debate is design. How will it look, and how will it…

We have plenty of group and volume house builders, but what can we do to switch them onto well-designed density, instead of sprawling single-family developments on the city fringes? Group-home building companies have a sweet spot in suburban subdivisions of separate houses, dabbling in multi-unit housing, using prefabricated building components. But repetition of buildings are not well received by their clients, who prefer some individuality. A major issue is dealing with mass customisation: individualised design with efficiencies from repetition. Group builders are not great at dealing with medium and high density, they too often minimise or cut design from a project. Design needs to lead these projects. There are plenty of small manufacturers of components. What is needed to ramp them up to produce volume, quickly? The prefab industry is…

What’s the attraction to refitting humble buildings like this? I’m very keen on the idea of memory, the life and the stories of everyday buildings, things we are drawn to and react to. It’s almost a way to try to reconnect with the past and a simple way of living. I’m interested in seeing how much of that I can squeeze out and to show that architecture has a place here too. What’s your favourite thing about the house? It’s a very tricky one for me as this railway cottage is so much about making it very personal. Everywhere I look I see myself, my thoughts, my moods, my crafting of spaces and things. If I had to, though, I’d say it would be a tie between the window and…