Long Live the Modern: New Zealand’s New Architecture, 1904–1984
Edited by Julia Gatley
‘. . . this is a most impressive work, one which serves both as a reference and an inspiration to search out one of the most exciting chapters in New Zealand’s architectural history.’ – Christopher Moore, The Press
Modern architecture is built into the fabric of our lives. From skyscrapers to state houses, Auckland’s motorways to Dunedin’s public library, modernist design and construction deeply influence our experience of life in New Zealand. Long Live the Modern celebrates 180 buildings, sites and neighbourhoods designed by New Zealand’s most accomplished architects. They show how international ideas were adapted to New Zealand concerns, climates and conditions to create a unique local modernism.
Succinct entries outline the design, construction and history of each building and are generously illustrated with architectural drawings and historic and contemporary photographs. Auckland’s Civic Theatre, Harbour Bridge and Tamaki state houses appear alongside Wellington’s Freyberg Pool, Athfield House and Beehive. Other buildings include Ernst Plishke’s Church of St Mary in Taihape, Warren and Mahoney’s Dorset Street Flats in Christchurch, Cedric Firth’s Monro Building in Nelson, John Scott’s Maori Battalion Memorial Hall in Palmerston North, and the H. B. Williams Memorial Library in Gisborne.
The buildings showcased in this book – both familiar and unknown – are integral to the New Zealand we built in the twentieth century. They provide 180 reasons to shout ‘Long live the modern!’
Editor
Dr Julia Gatley is a lecturer in architectural history, theory and design at The University of Auckland and editor/author of Long Live the Modern (AUP, 3rd imp 2009) and Group Architects (AUP 2010). The 45 contributors to Long Live the Modern are academics, architects, historians, art historians and heritage consultants from universities and other institutions around New Zealand.
