Home New Zealand June - July 2022

The year 1936 was an interesting one: it was the year London lost the Crystal Palace to fire, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry divorcée Wallis Simpson, and the BBC launched its first public television broadcasts in London. In New Zealand, Michael Joseph Savage introduced the 40-hour week and Jean Batten completed the first solo flight direct from Britain, landing in Auckland. By 1936, five years had passed since the Napier earthquake and fires and the city had declared itself the ‘newest’ in the world. It was the era of Art Deco and Spanish Mission architecture. The following year, the first state houses would be built in New Zealand as the Great Depression slowly came to an end. It was in that context that HOME was launched in…

Guy Frederick For this issue, you photographed Amanda Shanley’s studio and apartment. What stood out most to you about this building? I’ve always had a soft spot for the city south of The Octagon. For me, it’s the sheer potential of this area that the studio encapsulates and that underpins its essence. Also, given my addiction to light, the interaction and play of light in the space is positively dreamy. As a photographer, what is it you enjoy most about your work? Photography has been a gift through which I interpret the world, which often means distilling complexity into simplicity. My intention is to present the viewer with the opportunity to view a space and, most importantly, their relationship with it, differently. Based in Dunedin, your work has taken you…

Art of architecture DESIGN:01 Inspired by visionary architects past and present, the World of WearableArt (WOW) will this year reintroduce the Architecture category after a seven-year hiatus, using the human body as an architectural canvas. Across plane, structure, and texture, entries in the Architecture category will explore specific materials and their properties, considering how they drape, pleat, fold, and wrap. “It is always exciting to bring architecture into the context of wearable art and see where designers go with that. For some, it is the opportunity to explore the work of an architect that they admire, or to be inspired by a building or structure that they love, or they might take a very abstract approach and play with shape, volume, and colour to achieve an architectural quality in their…

At an exclusive awards evening held at the Designer Rugs showroom in Grey Lynn, Auckland, in April, we celebrated this year’s winners and finalists. The winners were toasted with exquisite drops from 2021 New Zealand Winemaker of the Year Jules Taylor, craft beer from Citizen, and water from Antipodes. French canapes were served by chef Arno Jullien. “It was an honour to host this event in celebration of the 2022 winners and finalists — projects designed by some of New Zealand’s most talented architects and designers, a group of people whose work is testament to the industry with designs that dare to be bold, to push the boundaries, and to deliver innovation at its best,” HOME editor-in-chief Clare Chapman says. Thank you to our 2022 event partners: Designer Rugs, Jules…

A collaboration between Oslo-based firm Snøhetta and Christchurch-based South by Southeast, the design is the result of nearly a decade of talks and extensive community engagement. It is the third premises of New Zealand’s oldest surf life saving club, New Brighton. Weaving a built tapestry of people, site and stories was the main design driver for this building that has, in reality, achieved much more. As much landscape as architecture, there are moments of shelter, places to connect and invitations to explore, yet the plan is clearly defined to ensure the three main functions of the building don’t overlap: surf lifesaving, community spaces, and public/casual interaction. “The sculptural timber form carves out spaces for the community to dwell, observe, and gather, and allows the public to inhabit niches at ground…

Just near the Octagon in Dunedin, a 158-year-old two-storey commercial building had been empty for several years, slowly deteriorating amid the hustle and bustle of Princes Street. Previously, it had been home to a range of retailers and tenants — most recently a school uniform shop. The facade gave little away of the beautiful heritage features within; rather, it stood bleak and rundown, a void of sorts in an otherwise busy part of the city. However, when ceramic artist Amanda Shanley began looking for a central Dunedin studio, the building’s fate was to change. Part of a larger building spanning a block and known as Farley’s Buildings, the structure was designed by architect Charles G Smith and was built in 1863. It is among the oldest commercial buildings in the…