page 122

A Pictorial Survey of Housing in New Zealand: Part Four

By Gordon F. Wilson

Photographs by Courtesy of the Turnbull Library

page 123

14 The construction of this house is of interest because it is an attempt to retain the economy and flexibility of timber and combine it with the durability of brick. The house is all timber except for the 4½ in thick veneer exterior wall. The simple shape of the plan shown above the photograph, the well pitched roof and the numerous but well barred windows associate this house with the English cottage tradition. It stands without compromise against the elements, and the garden, too, in this is typical of the great majority of houses built in New Zealand today.

15 It has been difficult to obtain interior illustrations of early houses. This has been included because it is characteristic of many larger houses erected 40 years ago. Wood has been used to line the walls and ceilings, resulting in a sombre effect in contrast to the lightness of most rooms of today. It is a good example of its time but overcrowded with detail. Many hands are required to attend to and clean such houses, and for this reason they are difficult to maintain today. The social and material conditions of each age are, of course, reflected in the house built during that age.

16 This Georgian Revival house with its sharp rectangular form and simple but carefully selected details was received with surprise and dislike when erected in 1913. Gray Young, Architect. It is a house of scholarly distinction, but the material used for construction, brick, was alien to the traditional construction, timber. Brick work is a craft that has always been handicapped in New Zealand because of the lack of opportunity and knowledge. For this reason the excellent brickwork of this house is of particular interest. Note the slight change in the shade of each brick, the wide mortar joints, the rubbed brick arches, the slightly recessed quoins and projecting sills. All this was new and has had a far-reaching effect upon the subsequent quality of brickwork in this country.

To the younger architect of the day and those who had some knowledge of the Georgian tradition of England, this house had appeal perhaps nostalgic in a time of almost complete ignorance and indifference to fine buildings.

To the general public it had little appeal. They thought the barred sash windows were old-fashioned and knew they were difficult to clean. This Georgian window was, of course, developed in an age when glass was costly and difficult to make, hence the small panes. The architect's selective use of the small panes for this house was for æsthetic, not technical reasons. Technically it was possible to make glass many times larger than the whole window. It is only within the last few years that architects have æsthetically developed the possibility of the large window without glaring bars.

The rectangular shape of the Georgian house with its carefully balanced windows and central entrance door restricted free planning, and in fact it is only by great ingenuity of planning skill that an architect can design a house in the Georgian style that is convenient and comfortable.

The Georgian Revival added little to the planning and technical problem of designing a house to meet twentieth century requirements. This was to be expected because the Georgian house was developed at a time when society was comparatively static and construction relatively simple.

17 The farm houses of New Zealand are of special interest. This one is from Central Otago. The main walls and chimneys are of stone. The verandah when built surrounded the house on three sides, but at a later date part of this verandah was enclosed with weatherboards. The detail and form indicate that the house was built in the 'sixties of last century. There is no suggestion of display here but of protection, comfort and economy, with a skilful handling of form and details.