Home New Zealand October - November 2021

It was well before the latest lockdown that we decided on an overarching theme for this issue: we wanted to explore our cities and how residential design is shaping and defining how we live in urban — and suburban — environments, often on sites carved from others, and in buildings of verticality where a synergy and delineation between community and privacy is paramount. As we got closer to sending this issue to print, level four started to drag on. The daily 1pm updates a somewhat dreaded — yet anticipated — break in the middle of the day; team video meetings illuminated by light-hearted banter and the antics of children and pets — the primary school child, adorned with an array of hats, walking silently yet theatrically back and forth behind…

Chris Hall British writer Chris Hall, a new resident of New Zealand, penned the feature about the Wellington project, Hill House by Novak + Middleton (page 110). You’ve recently moved to New Zealand. What are you enjoying most about living in Aotearoa? I have a Kiwi partner and I’ve visited New Zealand a fair bit over the past 15 years or so, but this is the first time I’ve lived here. I’ve mostly been enjoying everything we couldn’t enjoy in Covidravaged England — gigs, cafes, bars, meeting friends and family. I’ve also enjoyed not having a car in Auckland and instead getting to know the city by walking. You wrote about Hill House by Novak + Middleton for this issue. What were the highlights of exploring this home’s design? I…

Slow and steady DESIGN:01 Although somewhat delayed by recent lockdowns, Queenstown’s purveyors of homewares Slow Store are expected to open an Auckland showroom. Slow’s owner Martina Blanchard describes her store to HOME as having “niche and authentic brands and designs; the majority come from Scandinavia as we found the design history and practice follow what is important to us when it comes to transparent and sustainable production processes that are imbedded as part of their individual/unique brand story,” she says, “I found this aspect of brand authenticity very important in times of overconsumption and trend-driven design disposability, as it builds awareness around the choices we as consumers make on a daily basis.” Slow Store, Auckland is expected to open at the appropriate lockdown level on 10 Ponsonby Road, Grey Lynn.…

Travel intent Playing on the idea that New Zealand has a strong connection to temporary, quickly erected structures into which to place objects or events of particular significance — the marquee in Busby’s front lawn that was crucial to the Treaty of Waitangi; the multitude of canvas or plastic tents that are synonymous with Christmas, and so on — the team behind the Aotearoa Art Fair has launched a daring new initiative called Tent. The three-day event hopes to take galleries and artists out of their geographical comfort zone and into temporary, pop-up venues across the country. The long-weekend extravaganza is scheduled to have an “accompanying programme of special events, curated walks, chances to meet artists, and more”, according to organisers. HOME’s picks include: {Suite} Gallery (Wellington and Auckland) will…

DESIGN:08 After an 18-month hiatus, Milan’s much-anticipated Salone del Mobile was held in September. Photographer Mary Gaudin explored the event for HOME — and encountered an exhibition of design where circularity and sustainability prevailed. Dubbed ‘Supersalone’, this year’s event was curated by architect Stefano Boeri and designed to deliver a national and international archive of creativity; a thematic and scenographic display defining the design inspiration and innovation that will capture the world’s attention in the coming months.…

DESIGN:09 The Residents: Made in Wellington By Lucy Revill Lucy Revill has been interviewing and photographing Wellington and its inhabitants for well over five years for her popular blog: The Residents. Late last year she turned that passion for finding the most emblematic and sometimes ‘off the beaten path’ humans from the Windy City towards turning their tales into book form. There are 38 stories here, including that of a cobbler, a DJ, a food truck operator, a prime minister, and a film-industry icon, all told with a palpable sense of curiosity and humanism; a veritable love letter to the capital and all the people who make it what it is. The Strays of Paris By Jane Smiley You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking this book — by Pulitzer Prize–winning…