Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
New Zealand Rustic
By Kate Coughlan with Tessa Crisp & Yolanta Woldendorp
Bateman Books
RRP $59.99
Publication Date October 1
Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
One of the dreams of many New Zealanders is of a return to nature, living in a house in sympathy with the environment, possibly living off the land, even living off grid.
For many that dream has become a reality and a new book “New Zealand Rustic” highlights that reality with a focus on six houses.
There are a few introductory sections on lighting, texture, colour, natura light and air and styling which help define the formal aspects of good design which are seen in the houses. The major part of the book is devoted to six significant houses from the North and South Islands. There is Manukaru in Queenstown, Ginkgo Point in Omaha, Rumble Bay in Marlborough, Waiau Homestead at Gisborne’s Wainui Beach, Raggedy Ridge House between Alexandra and Omakau, Te Au Homestead near Mahia and Manukard Gard at Glenorchy.
Each of the houses has a history. The Waiau Homestead at Gisborne’s Wainui Beach began life as a double bay villa on a farm on the East Coast before being moved to its current location, and the severe Raggedy Ridge House which is built among the rocky outcrops of schist seems to made of the local stone forced out of the ground, both an alien intrusion and an almost organic design connected to the landscape.
Where The Raggedy Ridge House is built of concrete many others are constructed from natural materials. Ginkgo Point has no concrete and the interior use of unpainted timber and recycled material gives the interior spaces a simplicity and warmth which is enhanced by the clever use of light.
The earth house concept is centuries old but more recent ecological concerns have seen many built in the last fifty years. Such homes as Jimma Dillon’s self-built Rumble Bay house. offer excellent insulation, providing stable temperatures that keep them cool in summer and warm in winter. As the author notes of the house “This is a world without the 4×2 rule of conventional building”. It is a house where floors, walls and ceilings blend into a continuous flowing surface like a Hundertwasser creation. the whole building sheltering under 150 tonnes of earth.
Tessa Crisp’s photography captures the drama and isolation of the houses and the landscape they are set in. There are views of rock formations, the sea and mountain ranges, all of them emphasising the both the rugged beauty and the serenity which the New Zealand landscape can offer. She also manages to capture the sense of the intimacy of the interiors where objects give the houses their own individuality. In some cases there are art works which add interest such as Gingko Point House with works by Michael Smither and Tony Lane.
Yolanta Woldendorp has designed stylish book where photographs and text combine to provide an appreciation of the houses – their construction, details of surfaces, decoration and orientation to the surrounding environment.
The book allows the reader / viewer to vicariously enjoy what the owners have enjoyed in their designing, building and decorating of these homes.
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