Dorset Street Flats
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October 24th, 2016

24/10/2016

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Warren and Mahoney were to become the best known, and arguably the most popular, architects of the 1960s and 70s. Yet their most influential building was one of their first; the little single-person flats set in a row in Dorset Street, Christchurch, in 1959 gave substance to a vision of the town-house that was to capture the imagination of New Zealand architects and clients alike.

The underlying model for these flats was the English terrace house, but because the flats were very small, one was placed above the another so that each pair overlooked a courtyard. Stairs between groups of flats gave access to those on the upper level. The architects here declined to use a continuous balcony to give access to the upper flats, and thereby avoided the squalid connotations of the “sausage flats” that were being built at the time in city suburbs elsewhere. Warren and Mahoney have often used this method of access to the upper floors of all sorts of buildings, avoiding corridors and continuous balconies at all costs. The technique can be seen in Christchurch College, at the University Student Union building in Auckland, and at Christ’s College.

At Dorset Street the architects were blessed with a site that was shallow and wide, ideally suited to a row-house development, but it was not until 1963 that they got the chance to show what could be done on a large deep site with a relatively narrow frontage. These “flats”, as they were still called, were built for Mrs Broderick in Merivale, and these were truly what we now know as town-houses. At that time many commentators were still asserting that New Zealanders would not live in flats, but within a few years planning ordinances around the country were adjusted to allow the kinds of buildings that Warren and Mahoney had demonstrated could be pleasant, private and popular.


DAVID MITCHELL and GILLIAN CHAPLIN, “The Elegant Shed: New Zealand Architecture Since 1945”, Oxford University Press, 1984, ISBN 0-19-558125-3, pp 52-54.

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October 16th, 2016

16/10/2016

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Some progress over the last fortnight, with the project management team from Arrow International onsite on Thursday 6 October for a discussion on repair strategy. A presentation was made on a possible solution for relevelling the flats, using a similar technique to that successfully completed at the Christchurch Art Gallery. Some discussion also on strengthening of the outside walls, using an internal wire system, and bracing of the ceilings, which may involve temporarily removing the roof. A drone inspection was scheduled for this week.
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October 02nd, 2016

2/10/2016

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The second half of last week's interview with rebuild architect, Greg Young.


What has been the most challenging part so far?

The most challenging part so far has been navigating the processes of being one tooth on a large insurance industry cog. There are many ways to repair the building, but most aren't appropriate for this very special building, and I have needed to be very aware of this as I've navigated through the initial contractual stages, and discussed options with the many different people involved, including insurance, construction, compliance, and heritage parties.


Any surprises?

The best surprise I've had so far is the project managers being so keen to do the right thing and ensure that this very special building is repaired to the best condition possible.


You have been involved with rebuild of the J.J. Connor Flats in Papanui Road, really a sister block from the same period of Sir Miles’ career. How has that project differed to Dorset Street Flats, and are there any learnings from one that can be applied to the other?

These flats are damaged beyond repair, and cannot be structurally upgraded sufficiently, so are being demolished, and rebuilt as closely as possible to the originals (upgraded structurally, acoustically, and thermally to comply with current code requirements). The demolition of the J.J. Connor Flats allow us to salvage imperial sized concrete blocks for use in the repairs of the Dorset Street Flats, if required.
The J.J. Connor flats have taught me two main lessons.
Firstly, a critical factor to getting the best result is to have the support of all of the individual owners.
Secondly, it would be impossible to replicate The Dorset Street Flats with today's compliance requirements. It has been extremely difficult both architecturally and structurally on the J.J. Connor flats to replicate the detailing and proportions that the originals had.


6 owners, not all in Christchurch. How has it been dealing with a group of far flung parties?

It has been an absolute joy. All of the owners are passionate about the flats, and I get on extremely well with everyone - it makes my job an absolute pleasure.


You have met with Sir Miles Warren. What was his take on the project, and did he give you any advice?

Sir Miles stressed the simplicity of the flats. This is something that I will focus on with any changes we need to make. He also gave his support if required to shake his fist at people if needed - we'll keep that up our (or his) sleeve for now!


You have said yourself that this is a high profile job, and that the eyes of the architectural community are looking on closely. How much pressure is that?

Rather than call it pressure, I'd rather call it "focus". This repair is incredibly important to me, with great responsibility ... But when your everyday job is to design people's dreams, that is nothing new.


What are the next steps?

As I said, we’re currently working through big picture options for how to re-level the buildings, and the repercussions of that - once we have this worked out, the rest becomes much simpler. I'm also looking at the aesthetics of some of the strengthening requirements, before making any firm decisions.



You can read the whole interview on the website link below.

​http://www.dorsetstreetflats.com/rebuild-553711.html
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