Unedited version, 25 January 2009.
This block of flats was the first brutalist building in New Zealand and also the first to built out of a single block wall construction, hence the classification of the Christchurch City Council as a class 3. All buildings constructed of block up to this point were a narrow double walled block with an air gap between.
These flats were completed in 1957/8 and I remember as a child of 6 or 7 looking at them and thinking how wonderful they were and tried to picture myself living there. It was quite common in those days to go for a 'Sunday Drive'. We would go around and pick up the grandparents and virtually do a 'tiki tour' of all the new houses, suburbs etc. My family, as most of the 50's generation, were fairly pedestrian in their tastes and a lot of jeering and guffawing at anything 'modern' was par for the course on these Sunday Drives. Apparently bus tours would drive past this block of flats and 'jeer at their prison-like qualities', at the time they were know as 'Fort Dorset'. Their openness to the street and of course the northerly aspect and the sun made them seem like a shop window somehow. Nothing was hidden, all was revealed, it seemed to be a kick back to the many layered net curtains and blinds of past generations, in fact the same environment that I myself lived in, where privacy was sacrosanct and the outside world was to be shut out at all costs.
Miles's choice of materials, colours, and building style brought a breath of fresh air to the staid and rather ordinary architecture of the day. This block of flats was built upon his return from Europe and he brought with him many new ideas and seemed to try and put them all into this one building. The kitchen has a mixer tap system (both hot and cold coming out of the same spout) this, for its time, must have seemed so modern and with it. Above the sink was a plastic coated (also fairly radical) wire rack that you placed your dishes on when you had washed them and they drip-dried into the sink below. The cork tiles on the floors give a good acoustic feel to the residence and (for the downstairs) there were a very efficient and rather radical Norwegian 'pot belly' stove. It looks a bit like a Ned Kelly mask but they are very efficient for heating the apartment. At only 42 Sq Mtrs (including the balcony) these are very small living spaces so one must be very tidy in your living practices not to have it cluttered. The built in furniture would also have been a radical departure for its day, the living room has built in shelving and the downstairs flats have a fold down writing desk and next to that a fold down drinks cabinet, as well as a set of baize lined drawers for cutlery etc. The bedrooms also have built in componentry with a wardrobe, set of drawers for clothing a separate drawer at the base of the wardrobe for shoes etc. a recess with a door on it for dressing requirements a mirror and a light inside this 'dressing cupboard. Miles seemed to think not so much about a living space for people but he gave a huge amount of thought into HOW people would live in these spaces and provided the necessary tools for people to live in a modern way. The front of the living room area has a huge glass door which slides back to give a great indoor/outdoor flow, the bedroom has a glass Dutch door (a two part door)) that could be opened to allow access to the courtyard garden. The concrete beams in the apartment give a sense of solidity and in their battleship grey colour look almost industrial, with a timber slatted ceiling over a dark base the downstairs flats have a very cozy and comfortable almost cosseted feel. I think these buildings came along at just the right time when people were looking for a new way of doing things, a new way of living, the war was over new hope for the future and a fresh approach was yearned for. At the time I feel the buildings of Sir Miles Warren were just what was required, the proportions of the rooms, the lower than usual ceilings, light source, solid timber doors, cork tile flooring, black and white tile floors (in kitchen, foyer & bathroom), and in the downstairs flats the wall between the living area and the bedroom slides away to give you a feeling of an L shaped room all must have lent an air of 'being somewhere else'. These buildings have stood the test of time very well and are just as appropriate living spaces now as they would have been when first built. One of the city Councils requirements is that this building stays exactly as it is, all surfaces and colours must be retained, so today they still look pretty much as they did back in the 1960s, even the block wall facing the street is unpainted 'Vibrapac' block in its original imperial size, to date we have escaped the plague of tagging and we have managed keep its originality. Apart from the growth of trees and the Virginia creeper over the block walls these flats look pretty much as they did in their Heyday.
I have always enjoyed my time living in this iconic building, they are very easy buildings to live in and with the proximity of the park, the city, the Arts centre, theatres, cinemas etc everything was within walking distance and today living in this twenty-first century cafe society everything is within easy reach from 24 hour convenience store to cafes and restaurants.
David Turner
Reproduced with the permission of the author.
This block of flats was the first brutalist building in New Zealand and also the first to built out of a single block wall construction, hence the classification of the Christchurch City Council as a class 3. All buildings constructed of block up to this point were a narrow double walled block with an air gap between.
These flats were completed in 1957/8 and I remember as a child of 6 or 7 looking at them and thinking how wonderful they were and tried to picture myself living there. It was quite common in those days to go for a 'Sunday Drive'. We would go around and pick up the grandparents and virtually do a 'tiki tour' of all the new houses, suburbs etc. My family, as most of the 50's generation, were fairly pedestrian in their tastes and a lot of jeering and guffawing at anything 'modern' was par for the course on these Sunday Drives. Apparently bus tours would drive past this block of flats and 'jeer at their prison-like qualities', at the time they were know as 'Fort Dorset'. Their openness to the street and of course the northerly aspect and the sun made them seem like a shop window somehow. Nothing was hidden, all was revealed, it seemed to be a kick back to the many layered net curtains and blinds of past generations, in fact the same environment that I myself lived in, where privacy was sacrosanct and the outside world was to be shut out at all costs.
Miles's choice of materials, colours, and building style brought a breath of fresh air to the staid and rather ordinary architecture of the day. This block of flats was built upon his return from Europe and he brought with him many new ideas and seemed to try and put them all into this one building. The kitchen has a mixer tap system (both hot and cold coming out of the same spout) this, for its time, must have seemed so modern and with it. Above the sink was a plastic coated (also fairly radical) wire rack that you placed your dishes on when you had washed them and they drip-dried into the sink below. The cork tiles on the floors give a good acoustic feel to the residence and (for the downstairs) there were a very efficient and rather radical Norwegian 'pot belly' stove. It looks a bit like a Ned Kelly mask but they are very efficient for heating the apartment. At only 42 Sq Mtrs (including the balcony) these are very small living spaces so one must be very tidy in your living practices not to have it cluttered. The built in furniture would also have been a radical departure for its day, the living room has built in shelving and the downstairs flats have a fold down writing desk and next to that a fold down drinks cabinet, as well as a set of baize lined drawers for cutlery etc. The bedrooms also have built in componentry with a wardrobe, set of drawers for clothing a separate drawer at the base of the wardrobe for shoes etc. a recess with a door on it for dressing requirements a mirror and a light inside this 'dressing cupboard. Miles seemed to think not so much about a living space for people but he gave a huge amount of thought into HOW people would live in these spaces and provided the necessary tools for people to live in a modern way. The front of the living room area has a huge glass door which slides back to give a great indoor/outdoor flow, the bedroom has a glass Dutch door (a two part door)) that could be opened to allow access to the courtyard garden. The concrete beams in the apartment give a sense of solidity and in their battleship grey colour look almost industrial, with a timber slatted ceiling over a dark base the downstairs flats have a very cozy and comfortable almost cosseted feel. I think these buildings came along at just the right time when people were looking for a new way of doing things, a new way of living, the war was over new hope for the future and a fresh approach was yearned for. At the time I feel the buildings of Sir Miles Warren were just what was required, the proportions of the rooms, the lower than usual ceilings, light source, solid timber doors, cork tile flooring, black and white tile floors (in kitchen, foyer & bathroom), and in the downstairs flats the wall between the living area and the bedroom slides away to give you a feeling of an L shaped room all must have lent an air of 'being somewhere else'. These buildings have stood the test of time very well and are just as appropriate living spaces now as they would have been when first built. One of the city Councils requirements is that this building stays exactly as it is, all surfaces and colours must be retained, so today they still look pretty much as they did back in the 1960s, even the block wall facing the street is unpainted 'Vibrapac' block in its original imperial size, to date we have escaped the plague of tagging and we have managed keep its originality. Apart from the growth of trees and the Virginia creeper over the block walls these flats look pretty much as they did in their Heyday.
I have always enjoyed my time living in this iconic building, they are very easy buildings to live in and with the proximity of the park, the city, the Arts centre, theatres, cinemas etc everything was within walking distance and today living in this twenty-first century cafe society everything is within easy reach from 24 hour convenience store to cafes and restaurants.
David Turner
Reproduced with the permission of the author.