Love, of Architecture, and Other Beautiful Things

This is the second major design studio project in second year architecture at unitec. It involves designing a family home for a fictional client - a family of 7:

John’s legal career as a queen’s council had become substantial and is well regarded in company and financial circles in Auckland. Gabby is a successful portraitist . . John has a passable talent as a pianist (he has a modest grand piano). His classical focus has lately being challenged by George’s interest and very promising jazz trumpet. George’s squash is also being trained and he has lately been moved up to a B grade. George isn’t sure what he wants to do though he had been a student for a day at Auckland’s Unitec and some kind of a design degree seems interesting to him. His mother is concerned about his ability to draw and he spends time with her daily, improving his skills. Richard, their eldest son, planning history as a major, has also represented Auckland as a 1500m freestyle swimmer. Anne, the youngest at fourteen is dancing with Spanish flamenco as her personal interest and seemed to be wanting to follow her father’s foot steps into a legal career though it is rather too early to say such things.

John himself has been collecting original musical manuscripts for some years now which together with his father King’s library of research into the New Zealanders in Crete (but also generally the eastern Mediterranean) defending the island from German attack during the Second World War, needs specialist housing.

Gabby, for her own amusement, has painted a series of interpretations of New Zealand painter’s self portraits that now amounted to a small collection of 30 works in a standard format just a little larger than A4. This also needs to have adequate display provision in the new quarters being planned.

King still drives a car but Win has given up driving because she has a heart problem which needs daily swimming therapy that Anne often takes pleasure in assisting because she likes hearing her grandmother’s stories of her early life in the conservative world of Christchurch of the 1940's. Going to the Tepid Baths everyday puts a strain on the family transport system and Gabby has suggested that Richard and Win might usefully be provided with a swimming lane plus pool as part of the new house.

Gabby and John both have vehicles as has his father King, but now Richard is saving to get his first vehicle. John is aware of the space problem that all this implies and is looking forward to your solutions to the off street parking that seems to be required

Both Gabby and John have strong memories of European architecture and recall that of all the experiences they had, those of being in the cloisters of religious buildings had repeatedly produced some of the most profound effects on them. They were somewhat mystified by this response because neither of them had a commitment to a religious life. They felt that somehow the "indoor out door flow" currently so fashionable might somehow recall the quality of feeling they had experienced so often in partially enclosed cloister spaces. Gabby's favourite was San Damiano in Assisi and Jeff 's was probably older in Provence .. Le Thoronet. which he had since discovered was recommended by the monks of Corbusier's La Tourette as a model for their new monastery.