New Zealand's Concrete Heritage In Housing.
MORTEN GJERDE – CONCRETE ENTHUSIAST AND SENIOR LECTURER IN THE VICTORIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
HOUSES PROVIDE WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPLORATION AND EXPRESSION OF DESIGN IDEAS AND THIS HAS LED TO A SENSE OF FASCINATION FOR DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE BY DESIGNERS AND THE PUBLIC ALIKE. MANY ARCHITECTS CUT THEIR PROFESSIONAL TEETH ON HOUSE PROJECTS BEFORE PROGRESSING TOWARD MORE COMPLEX AND PUBLIC TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION. ARGUABLY, NEW ZEALAND’S ARCHITECTURAL REPUTATION HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED IN THE REALM OF HOUSES AND HOUSING. INDEED, RENOWNED ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN SIR NIKOLAUS PEVSNER SINGLES OUT DOMESTIC DESIGNS FROM THE MODERN ERA AS OFFERING THE BEST EXAMPLES OF NEW ZEALAND ARCHITECTURE.
Since the late 1990s there has been a discernable push by many New Zealand designers to incorporate and expose concrete in the houses they design. Surpassing trends seen overseas, in NZ concrete is ground and polished in floor slabs and benchtops and left exposed as blockwork, sandwich panels or cast-in-situ formats.
Not only does it look good, it also has potential to stabilise indoor temperatures and limit unwanted acoustic interference between spaces. Yet interest in domestic applications for concrete is not new and one has only to look back to New Zealand’s modern design period, stretching from the 1930s to 1970s, to appreciate how passions for this local, indigenous building material were established. Throughout this period of architectural history houses and concrete played central roles. The relationships between concrete, houses and modernism were driven along three distinct motivations; technological, social and nationalistic.
Although individual buildings constructed earlier can be cited, it was not really until the reconstruction following the great Napier earthquake of 1931 that modernism took hold in New Zealand. The quake exposed weaknesses in our building design and control methods and led to the establishment of the Standards Institution [now Standards New Zealand]. Architectural historians Paul Walker and Justine Clark suggest that modernity is not just an issue of style but one of technology and that the shift that took place after the earthquake was a shift from the pre-modern to the modern.
Several reinforced concrete houses designed by William Gummer a decade or so before the quake survived intact. Although not built in the modern idiom, these houses provided technical guidance for the reconstruction effort until appropriate standards could be written and disseminated. The style that was adopted for the majority of new buildings, a stripped version of the Art Deco style, was well suited to concrete. The concentration of Art Deco commercial and residential buildings throughout the region has become internationally significant. It appears that the opportunity to rebuild Napier following analysis of the structural performance of concrete buildings had shifted New Zealand into the modern era.
The country’s second wave of modernism revolved around a social agenda. This clearly reflected the true roots of the movement; modernism had intended to solve social problems by planning more efficient and egalitarian environments. It was in the area of houses and housing that social planning agendas were being tested in Europe. The concrete Centennial Flats, constructed in 1939, represent the NZ Labour Government’s first step toward higher density living. Built by the Department of Housing Construction to accommodate 50 families on a city fringe site, it was a clear departure from the norm and ideal of the detached single family dwelling. Considerable criticism was levelled at the DHC, which had adopted a strategy extending well beyond housing people more efficiently. At the time there were shortages of skilled labour and dried timber. The Department’s Chief Architect Gordon Wilson had worked with Gummer in Napier who, as noted, had developed expertise in the use of reinforced concrete construction. That background gave Wilson the confidence to recommend diversification in the materials of construction to overcome the acute shortages. A project of this scale could easily have been constructed in timber, allowing for a plaster render to achieve the stripped modernist aesthetic. However, the building was constructed in reinforced concrete, with at roofs and lack of ornament, proclaiming that the new European architecture – International Style – had indeed reached New Zealand. The project was successful at every level; social, constructionally and economically. It would also lead to more ambitious high density housing projects.
Europeans who immigrated to New Zealand in the time leading up to the Second World War also influenced design outcomes. Architect Ernst Plischke was a devoted follower of the International Style and this was brought to bear on his designs for the Dixon Street Flats, which were unprecedented in terms of scale, planning and aesthetics in this country. The McLean Flats, also in Wellington, were constructed in the period 1943 – 44. Here Plischke worked with Frederich Neumann, who had arrived in 1938 to take a drafting position with the DCH. Like Plischke, Neumann wrote and spoke extensively about architecture. Neumann spoke passionately of the need for New Zealand architects to interrelate engineering with architecture and to consider materials carefully. Referring to the two indigenous materials, Neumann felt that architects were wasting timber and not making adequate use of concrete. Neumann went on to design the ‘Star Flats’ from the mid 1950s through to the mid 1960s. These medium density blocks were built extensively throughout the country and are regarded as his most important housing legacy. While concrete figured prominently in these projects, here it was seen as a means to an end, in terms of architectural expression. The task of reflecting New Zealand culture and conditions in architecture was left to the architects who would follow in the late 1950s and 1960s.
It was not until the third phase of modernism, characterised by professional confidence and a search for local identity, that modernity could be linked to the New Zealand condition. The 1950s were witness to discourse around architectural expression appropriate to New Zealand conditions; specific to the cultural and social characteristics, the environmental conditions and constructed of local materials. Alongside timber, concrete remained a preferred material.
The main formats for use were the concrete masonry unit and off the form cast in situ concrete. While precast concrete was beginning to be developed by the early 1960s, applications were focussed on commercial structures, where the scale of repetition made its use feasible. At the domestic scale, as with the work carried out by the European influenced designers, concrete work was mainly cast in place. Architects experimented with concrete surface textures and combinations of materials to enrich their designs. In an international context, this form of expression was akin to Scandinavian practices. The link to northern European is quite clear and has been acknowledged by architects such as Sir Miles Warren.
Warren is the most significant architect working during this period. His South Island roots have had a strong influence on his architectural style, particularly during the seminal period when modern architecture became regionally distinct. He first made a mark with the Dorset Street Flats, eight modest dwellings grouped into two walk up forms. The structural system consists of concrete masonry walls, a cast in situ concrete floor system and lightweight roof. Here Warren foreshadows the language of detailing that would punctuate his career and influence so many others. Every junction, every opportunity is used to express the nature of the materials and method /process of building. The concrete floor and beam support structure are left unfinished, set off from the concrete masonry walls that are painted white to derive maximum effect from the intense New Zealand light. The combination of concrete ‘brut’ and painted concrete masonry became the hallmark of the work of Warren & Mahoney for some 25 years. Concrete masonry offered opportunity to imbue wall surfaces with scale and texture while accommodating the structural requirements for this seismically active area. The 20cm x20cm x 40cm module of the concrete block influenced virtually every dimension and detail, horizontal and vertical.
The Grigg House saw the introduction of the steeply pitched roof, inspired by the houses Warren visited in Denmark. The taller forms were appropriate to the social and geographic conditions of Canterbury, where he worked. The class and social structure of Canterbury is well developed, recalling its strong links to England. The affluent clients were drawn to the more substantial appearance created by these roof forms. These forms also seem appropriate to punctuate the building against the broad, relentless plains of the region.
The undisputed highlight of concrete residential scale buildings realised during this period is the townhouse completed for the architect himself in 1965. Built at 65 Cambridge Terrace in Christchurch, the four storey building is a visual concert in board formed natural finished concrete, painted concrete masonry, native timber (painted externally) and large areas of glass. A three storey mass seemingly floats above a concrete floor structure cantilevered out from the hidden concrete masonry walls. The relationship between vertical supports, cantilevered structure and the glazing suggests that the mass above is carried by the glass. But Warren is also generous, revealing for all to see the structural solution as part of the architecture. Nothing is covered over; this is truly a rational but at the same time expressive building.
The architect developed the detailing approach evident in the work that precedes it, particularly in the Dorset Street Flats. However, the details are even more exaggerated, and at the same time, refined. The larger-than-life forms, structural sensibility and detailing manner that celebrate each and every coming together can also be traced to the commercial work carried out by the practice, particularly the competition winning entry for the Christchurch Town Hall. According to Warren, construction had to be dry and preferably prefabricated [although neither was a particular feature of the project at 65 Cambridge Terrace], each material exposed and each separate part articulated. The materials should be used au natural, and a whole new system of bringing parts together was devised based on junctions without architraves and recessed detailing. This building and many others like it synthesised the maturing of architectural practice in New Zealand. Finally, more than 100 years after colonial settlement, architects had developed an architectural language unique to this place.
Modernism, particularly as explored and developed during the period 1930 to 1970, has been significant in New Zealand’s architectural history and remains a strong influence on the work of architects practicing today. The role concrete has played in its development has been significant, not only in New Zealand but also elsewhere. However, the manner in which concrete has been used locally is unique and has perhaps even greater relevance to today’s practice, where tectonics and clear expression of materials and connections is celebrated. Concrete, along with timber, was and remains a favoured material; able to be formed expressively, sourced locally and one with which most designers have had hands-on experience.
Morten Gjerde
Reproduced with the permission of the publisher.
MORTEN GJERDE – CONCRETE ENTHUSIAST AND SENIOR LECTURER IN THE VICTORIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
HOUSES PROVIDE WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPLORATION AND EXPRESSION OF DESIGN IDEAS AND THIS HAS LED TO A SENSE OF FASCINATION FOR DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE BY DESIGNERS AND THE PUBLIC ALIKE. MANY ARCHITECTS CUT THEIR PROFESSIONAL TEETH ON HOUSE PROJECTS BEFORE PROGRESSING TOWARD MORE COMPLEX AND PUBLIC TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION. ARGUABLY, NEW ZEALAND’S ARCHITECTURAL REPUTATION HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED IN THE REALM OF HOUSES AND HOUSING. INDEED, RENOWNED ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN SIR NIKOLAUS PEVSNER SINGLES OUT DOMESTIC DESIGNS FROM THE MODERN ERA AS OFFERING THE BEST EXAMPLES OF NEW ZEALAND ARCHITECTURE.
Since the late 1990s there has been a discernable push by many New Zealand designers to incorporate and expose concrete in the houses they design. Surpassing trends seen overseas, in NZ concrete is ground and polished in floor slabs and benchtops and left exposed as blockwork, sandwich panels or cast-in-situ formats.
Not only does it look good, it also has potential to stabilise indoor temperatures and limit unwanted acoustic interference between spaces. Yet interest in domestic applications for concrete is not new and one has only to look back to New Zealand’s modern design period, stretching from the 1930s to 1970s, to appreciate how passions for this local, indigenous building material were established. Throughout this period of architectural history houses and concrete played central roles. The relationships between concrete, houses and modernism were driven along three distinct motivations; technological, social and nationalistic.
Although individual buildings constructed earlier can be cited, it was not really until the reconstruction following the great Napier earthquake of 1931 that modernism took hold in New Zealand. The quake exposed weaknesses in our building design and control methods and led to the establishment of the Standards Institution [now Standards New Zealand]. Architectural historians Paul Walker and Justine Clark suggest that modernity is not just an issue of style but one of technology and that the shift that took place after the earthquake was a shift from the pre-modern to the modern.
Several reinforced concrete houses designed by William Gummer a decade or so before the quake survived intact. Although not built in the modern idiom, these houses provided technical guidance for the reconstruction effort until appropriate standards could be written and disseminated. The style that was adopted for the majority of new buildings, a stripped version of the Art Deco style, was well suited to concrete. The concentration of Art Deco commercial and residential buildings throughout the region has become internationally significant. It appears that the opportunity to rebuild Napier following analysis of the structural performance of concrete buildings had shifted New Zealand into the modern era.
The country’s second wave of modernism revolved around a social agenda. This clearly reflected the true roots of the movement; modernism had intended to solve social problems by planning more efficient and egalitarian environments. It was in the area of houses and housing that social planning agendas were being tested in Europe. The concrete Centennial Flats, constructed in 1939, represent the NZ Labour Government’s first step toward higher density living. Built by the Department of Housing Construction to accommodate 50 families on a city fringe site, it was a clear departure from the norm and ideal of the detached single family dwelling. Considerable criticism was levelled at the DHC, which had adopted a strategy extending well beyond housing people more efficiently. At the time there were shortages of skilled labour and dried timber. The Department’s Chief Architect Gordon Wilson had worked with Gummer in Napier who, as noted, had developed expertise in the use of reinforced concrete construction. That background gave Wilson the confidence to recommend diversification in the materials of construction to overcome the acute shortages. A project of this scale could easily have been constructed in timber, allowing for a plaster render to achieve the stripped modernist aesthetic. However, the building was constructed in reinforced concrete, with at roofs and lack of ornament, proclaiming that the new European architecture – International Style – had indeed reached New Zealand. The project was successful at every level; social, constructionally and economically. It would also lead to more ambitious high density housing projects.
Europeans who immigrated to New Zealand in the time leading up to the Second World War also influenced design outcomes. Architect Ernst Plischke was a devoted follower of the International Style and this was brought to bear on his designs for the Dixon Street Flats, which were unprecedented in terms of scale, planning and aesthetics in this country. The McLean Flats, also in Wellington, were constructed in the period 1943 – 44. Here Plischke worked with Frederich Neumann, who had arrived in 1938 to take a drafting position with the DCH. Like Plischke, Neumann wrote and spoke extensively about architecture. Neumann spoke passionately of the need for New Zealand architects to interrelate engineering with architecture and to consider materials carefully. Referring to the two indigenous materials, Neumann felt that architects were wasting timber and not making adequate use of concrete. Neumann went on to design the ‘Star Flats’ from the mid 1950s through to the mid 1960s. These medium density blocks were built extensively throughout the country and are regarded as his most important housing legacy. While concrete figured prominently in these projects, here it was seen as a means to an end, in terms of architectural expression. The task of reflecting New Zealand culture and conditions in architecture was left to the architects who would follow in the late 1950s and 1960s.
It was not until the third phase of modernism, characterised by professional confidence and a search for local identity, that modernity could be linked to the New Zealand condition. The 1950s were witness to discourse around architectural expression appropriate to New Zealand conditions; specific to the cultural and social characteristics, the environmental conditions and constructed of local materials. Alongside timber, concrete remained a preferred material.
The main formats for use were the concrete masonry unit and off the form cast in situ concrete. While precast concrete was beginning to be developed by the early 1960s, applications were focussed on commercial structures, where the scale of repetition made its use feasible. At the domestic scale, as with the work carried out by the European influenced designers, concrete work was mainly cast in place. Architects experimented with concrete surface textures and combinations of materials to enrich their designs. In an international context, this form of expression was akin to Scandinavian practices. The link to northern European is quite clear and has been acknowledged by architects such as Sir Miles Warren.
Warren is the most significant architect working during this period. His South Island roots have had a strong influence on his architectural style, particularly during the seminal period when modern architecture became regionally distinct. He first made a mark with the Dorset Street Flats, eight modest dwellings grouped into two walk up forms. The structural system consists of concrete masonry walls, a cast in situ concrete floor system and lightweight roof. Here Warren foreshadows the language of detailing that would punctuate his career and influence so many others. Every junction, every opportunity is used to express the nature of the materials and method /process of building. The concrete floor and beam support structure are left unfinished, set off from the concrete masonry walls that are painted white to derive maximum effect from the intense New Zealand light. The combination of concrete ‘brut’ and painted concrete masonry became the hallmark of the work of Warren & Mahoney for some 25 years. Concrete masonry offered opportunity to imbue wall surfaces with scale and texture while accommodating the structural requirements for this seismically active area. The 20cm x20cm x 40cm module of the concrete block influenced virtually every dimension and detail, horizontal and vertical.
The Grigg House saw the introduction of the steeply pitched roof, inspired by the houses Warren visited in Denmark. The taller forms were appropriate to the social and geographic conditions of Canterbury, where he worked. The class and social structure of Canterbury is well developed, recalling its strong links to England. The affluent clients were drawn to the more substantial appearance created by these roof forms. These forms also seem appropriate to punctuate the building against the broad, relentless plains of the region.
The undisputed highlight of concrete residential scale buildings realised during this period is the townhouse completed for the architect himself in 1965. Built at 65 Cambridge Terrace in Christchurch, the four storey building is a visual concert in board formed natural finished concrete, painted concrete masonry, native timber (painted externally) and large areas of glass. A three storey mass seemingly floats above a concrete floor structure cantilevered out from the hidden concrete masonry walls. The relationship between vertical supports, cantilevered structure and the glazing suggests that the mass above is carried by the glass. But Warren is also generous, revealing for all to see the structural solution as part of the architecture. Nothing is covered over; this is truly a rational but at the same time expressive building.
The architect developed the detailing approach evident in the work that precedes it, particularly in the Dorset Street Flats. However, the details are even more exaggerated, and at the same time, refined. The larger-than-life forms, structural sensibility and detailing manner that celebrate each and every coming together can also be traced to the commercial work carried out by the practice, particularly the competition winning entry for the Christchurch Town Hall. According to Warren, construction had to be dry and preferably prefabricated [although neither was a particular feature of the project at 65 Cambridge Terrace], each material exposed and each separate part articulated. The materials should be used au natural, and a whole new system of bringing parts together was devised based on junctions without architraves and recessed detailing. This building and many others like it synthesised the maturing of architectural practice in New Zealand. Finally, more than 100 years after colonial settlement, architects had developed an architectural language unique to this place.
Modernism, particularly as explored and developed during the period 1930 to 1970, has been significant in New Zealand’s architectural history and remains a strong influence on the work of architects practicing today. The role concrete has played in its development has been significant, not only in New Zealand but also elsewhere. However, the manner in which concrete has been used locally is unique and has perhaps even greater relevance to today’s practice, where tectonics and clear expression of materials and connections is celebrated. Concrete, along with timber, was and remains a favoured material; able to be formed expressively, sourced locally and one with which most designers have had hands-on experience.
Morten Gjerde
Reproduced with the permission of the publisher.