Little windows into Athfield's eco-village style

At a time the shape of cities, and Christchurch in particular, is on the minds of many, Athfield Architects by Julia Gatley (Auckland University Press) is published on cue.

Gatley is on a mission to document New Zealand's heritage of modernist architecture, previously having published Long Live the Modern: New Zealand's New Architecture, 1904-1984, and Group Architects: Towards a New Zealand Architecture.

Her new book records 50 years of idiosyncratic works by the wild man of New Zealand architecture, his hands-on, can-do attitude and battles with bureaucracy.

Gatley covers Ian Athfield's growing up in Christchurch and encouragement of his adoptive parents, early exposure to the disciplined school of Warren and Mahoney and Peter Beaven, to Auckland and the outlandish Gaudi and rationalism of Mies van der Rohe, and the architecture without architects of the Dutchman Aldo van Eyck, then Wellington.

Think of that city's waterfront and Civic Square.

There are the early astonishing white houses, the profitable high-rise commercial buildings and his contribution to the public, urban and institutional enrichment of our built environment.

"A fountain of ideas," says architect Roger Walker.

Be prepared to be surprised and delighted by the range of work.

It is a sort of Whole Earth Catalogue for architects and the proletariat, with a certain retro presentation.

Peter Goodwin is a Dunedin subeditor.