Dunedin art deco building peaked in 1936-37

The former New Zealand Railways Road Services bus station by Queens Gardens is one of the city’s...
The former New Zealand Railways Road Services bus station by Queens Gardens is one of the city’s notable art deco buildings. Photo: Gregor Richardson.
A window and art deco font in View St. Photos: Christine O'Connor.
A window and art deco font in View St. Photos: Christine O'Connor.
A curved wall on View St.
A curved wall on View St.
A fan design above a curved window in Mosgiel.
A fan design above a curved window in Mosgiel.
Raised bands on the corner of a house in Eglinton Rd.
Raised bands on the corner of a house in Eglinton Rd.
A chevron design on a house in Taieri Rd.
A chevron design on a house in Taieri Rd.
A sunburst design on a door in Eglinton Rd.
A sunburst design on a door in Eglinton Rd.

Dunedin may not be known primarily as an art deco haven, but the city has some prime examples of the early- to mid-20th century style dotted through its suburbs.

Art deco first appeared in France just before World War 1, became popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and influenced the design of everything from buildings to jewellery and vehicles. Otago Polytechnic architectural studies lecturer Michael Findlay said the description "art deco" was not used until the 1960s. 

The style, however, began in the 1920s as "a fairly radical reduction in form in architecture", with designs reduced to cubes and cylinders and basic geometric shapes. The first flat-roofed modern houses were seen in Dunedin in 1934 and 1936-37 were "key years" for such building, although the style remained popular after the war when servicemen returned and built homes for their families. Plain stucco walls were relieved by raised bands, recessed grooves and geometric mouldings. Light did the work by casting strong shadows on surfaces.

Art deco was a "a sun-friendly form of architecture", sometimes called a "sun house" in the United Kingdom. It was a popularised form of modernism, and was widely dispersed from Europe through newspapers, magazines and movies from the early 1930s, becoming a "glamorised" style. It was picked up "quite quickly" in New Zealand.

Dunedin architects Miller and White designed art deco homes, which became an accepted alternative to an English-style cottage. Mr Findlay said the style was popular in Dunedin. Homes were built for "old money" families, and also as first homes for young married couples.

"There was a real sense of wanting to do something a bit different, but at that time the riskiness was mitigated by the fact that other people had been doing it".

Building of art deco homes continued until the early 1950s.

Comments

View Street is a special case(ment). There is much of the Old World on the Moray/View/Tennyson steep. Call it Art Deco, if you will, but those 'fonts' and curved wall are closed and impregnable, like Krak! des Chevaliers. Not a lot of California here.

Thank you. 2/6d in that upturned hat, pli:z.

 

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