Book Preview: ‘I never met a straight line I didn't like’ uncovers Christchurch’s mid-century modern movement
A recently-published book from Matthew Arnold and photographer Mary Gaudin, I never met a straight line I didn’t like, tells the fascinating story of Christchurch’s mid-century modern movement by showcasing 12 homes built in the New Zealand city between 1962 and 1973.
The first collaboration between Kiwi-born, France-based Mary and Matthew, co-founder of design agency Sons & Co, was Down the Long Driveway, You’ll See It, a 2014 tome that takes in New Zealand’s residential architecture between 1950 and 1974. The book’s title is a quote from an owner of one of the homes featured, used to describe directions to visitors. This human-focused approach, in which the nuanced details of a building’s inhabitation are uncovered and celebrated, perfectly captures what we love about their work, as does a quote from the introduction:
‘These houses aren’t new, they’re old and lived in. They can be a little dusty, slightly worn around the edges and all have what antique dealers like to call “patina”. But they’re perfect in the minds of the people who live in them because of what they represent, which when designed, was a better way of living.’
With the same sensitivity and consideration of homes as more than just architecture, this time the pair have honed-in on Christchurch to tell the story of its surprising mid-century modern tradition. As their introduction reads:
‘In the 1960s a small, conservative city at the bottom of the world exploded with a creative force that developed into a recognisable and distinct style of architecture that was widely admired and imitated and remains influential in New Zealand today.
‘For a decade Christchurch architects worked with a potent energy and urgency, creating hundreds of homes (and many of New Zealand’s best public and commercial buildings) in a regional style that is arguably the closest thing the country has to a modern indigenous style of architecture.
‘Hundreds of homes were designed in the Christchurch Style, many of which have since been altered, neglected or ruthlessly demolished. The Christchurch earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 thinned numbers further and the homes illustrated here are just a small representation of the style and architects of the period. They remain as intact examples of the ideas, materials and optimism of the time.’
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