From issue: Winter 2003

Much More Than Little Boxes

by Douglas Lloyd Jenkins

Douglas Lloyd Jenkins makes the case for ensuring that the 20th century house does not become a victim of wholesale redevelopment and individual remodeling.

"Worst House Best Street"...the Brenner Associates House in Meadowbank (1951)

Is the battle to save New Zealand's 20th century architectural heritage being lost? With developers asserting their right to develop and homeowners asserting their rights to remodel and expand at will, the works of many important 20th century architects are beginning to disappear.

The key battleground is the house. Most experts will agree that understanding the house is the key to New Zealand architecture. However, because houses constitute the primary asset of most Kiwis, owners resist any interference in what they might do to them. Also heritage organisations, be it at a national or local level, are wary of trespassing on this basic right. Therefore, for the near future at least, it seems that only the most significant 20th century houses will see any proactive protection. Is there any hope for the rest?

The former home of Paul Pascoe, one of Christchurch's leading modernist architects (circa 1945), was successfully marketed, using the architect's name, a few years ago.

Happily, the short answer is yes. The first step is to acknowledge that future preservation of 20th-century heritage will depend increasingly on private owners doing their quarter-acre bit. Secondly, we need to find ways of connecting original clients and owners of significant (or simply good) examples of the 20th-century house with the new generation of would-be buyers who are seeking such properties and can undertake their ongoing maintenance and guardianship.

In 2001, I bought a 1938 house designed by the architect Robin Simpson (1909-1947) for his own family. My rationale was simple. I had long admired the house. It was an important work of architecture, arguably the first modernist house built in New Zealand. It was in a neglected, but largely original, state and unprotected by any heritage listing. It was, needless to say, on a site considered ideal for "development."

Modernist houses like this Paul Pascoe-designed home in Christchurch (circa 1947) need owners who understand the importance of 20th century architecture. Photo: Jason Boa

I had two goals. I wanted a highly individual architecturally designed house in which to live and I wanted to restore the house and navigate its heritage listing so that, when I moved on, I could be confident that it would never again be threatened with alteration, demolition or removal.

The above story is not an attempt to claim to be prescient or to appear particularly noble (the house was also a solid financial investment). In fact, I thought the whole process was indicative only of my brand of lunacy. However, since I made the move, I've been approached by a number of people who have been hatching similar plans but who have had trouble finding suitable houses.

These people are largely a product of the huge growth in popularity of 20th-century design and architectural history over the past decade. They are aware of Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier but they also know about Ernest Plishke and the Group Architects. These are the foot soldiers of the 20th-century preservation movement, marching with new stylishly presented histories of New Zealand architecture such as Looking for the Local under their arms and surrounded by a collection of 20th-century decorative art gathered from flea markets, second-hand shops and garage sales.

On the other side of the equation are older New Zealanders who at some point in the recent past went it alone, out on the limb away from the comfort and conformity of life in the New Zealand suburbs. They built houses that in some way startled the neighbours or engendered head-shaking by visiting relatives. Sadly, when many of these people want to sell their houses, they believe that no one is interested and therefore harbour concerns for the future of their properties once they move. The process of having their properties heritage listed seems too daunting (it's not necessarily so but that's another story). The preservation movement needs to bring prospective buyers and sellers together.

Any house-hunting starts with the real estate listings of local newspapers. Certainly, some agents, aware of the changing climate and looking for an edge in the marketplace, are using architects' names to promote their properties. However, Greg Bowron, heritage architect with the North Shore City Council, says, "It is important to find a real estate agent sympathetic to the idea of heritage."

Even once they find one, homeowners may have to undertake little education programmes of their own. A quick one-page handout for the open home and a copy of the original plans on hand for viewing are all good strategies. However, most important of all is to ensure that the architect's name is prominent in any advertising. Owners should also direct agents that an offer that comes with a guarantee of preservation is preferable to a perhaps higher offer that entails demolition.

From potential buyers' point of view, it is worth noting that many houses of note pass through the pages of the daily papers without any attention. Recently, a 1950s house designed by Graeme Smith and home for most of its life to prominent designer Frank Carpay sold under the banner "The Ultimate Do Up." (It was full of his built-in furniture - perhaps the ultimate box for a Crown Lynn collector.)

At much the same time in the Auckland suburb of Meadowbank, a 1951 house by the avant-garde architectural partnership Brenner Associates was marketed as "Worst House Best Street." To recognize the much-altered (although saveable) Brenner Associates house, it would be necessary to have known the original, which would have meant being familiar with original material from the 1950s.

This is an easier process than might be thought. The periodical Building Today, which started in the mid-1930s and ran through the rest of the century as New Zealand Home & Building, is an excellent reference. This has been the journal of record for innovative New Zealand house design. It is held in most public libraries and a search of older copies can provide a good guide for locating the type of house sought. Of course, it can be a long wait between identifying that nice little house and having it come on the market. It does not hurt to be proactive. The direct approach, a well-worded letter popped into a letterbox, can strike just the right chord and makes the connection directly.

The growth of interest in 20th century heritage is at an early stage and interest can be expected to grow greatly over the coming decade. We may see the emergence of a 20th Century Society, such as exists already in Britain, to assist owners of these important gems. In the meantime, we just need to make sure that it is a decade in which not too much is lost.

Douglas Lloyd Jenkins is Associate Professor, School of Design, Unitec, Auckland. He has written extensively on modernism in New Zealand architecture and design over the past decade.