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Architect Sir Ian Athfield to be commemorated in Wellington

Architect Sir Ian Athfield to be commemorated in Wellington this Sunday

A public commemoration of the life and work of architect Sir Ian Athfield will be held in Wellington this Sunday (1 February), at 3pm.

The event, which will feature tributes from people who knew Sir Ian well, will be held in Civic Square, weather permitting. If it is raining, the commemoration will be held in City Sir Ian, who was one of the most singular architects in New Zealand over the past half century, died in Wellington on 16 January. His funeral, which was attended by family and close friends, took place last Friday at his Khandallah home.

“Ath was a big personality, and he had a huge impact on Wellington,” said the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, Teena Hale Pennington. “Many people will want to farewell Ath and celebrate his life, and this public commemoration Three of Sir Ian’s most significant projects – Civic Square, Wellington Central Library and the Wellington waterfront – will form the backdrop to the memorial event.

“It’s fitting that Ath’s commemoration will take place in a part of the city that so clearly reveals his influence,” said Ms Pennington. “Civic architecture was always important to Ath, and he was a tireless advocate for better public spaces.”

Sunday’s commemoration will be accompanied by an exhibition, with a biographical video, presenting some of the work of Sir Ian Athfield. Refreshments will be served.

Sir Ian Athfield was born in Christchurch and educated at the Auckland University School of Architecture. He worked as an architect in Wellington for several years before starting his own practice in 1968, and achieved international recognition in the mid-1970s when his practice won a competition to design a low-cost housing scheme in the Philippines – a project scuppered for political reasons.

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Sir Ian’s buildings of the 1960s and 1970s, especially the numerous unconventional houses he designed in Wellington, came to define that architectural moment.

Most prominent, and often most controversial, was his own home above the Wellington motorway, which was, for over 40 years, a “work in progress”. In 2000, the editor of the respected UK magazine, The Architectural Review, described the Athfield House as “one of the most wonderful house of the twentieth century”.

Athfield Architects grew to become one of the largest and most successful New Zealand architecture practices. The firm’s award-winning work included First Church of Christ Scientist, Telecom House, Adam Art Gallery, Massey University Te Ara Hiko College of Creative Arts, Waitangi Park (with Megan Wraight), the refurbishment of Government House and the headquarters of the GCSB, all in Wellington; Jade Stadium in Christchurch; Palmerston North Library; and Waitakere Council Building (with Architectus) in Auckland. A stream of accomplished houses also flowed from the practice, which has been located in the Athfield House for more than four decades.

Sir Ian was universally admired and respected within his profession. Sir Miles Warren described him as “New Zealand’s most distinguished and most creative architect”. In 2004 the New Zealand Institute of Architects conferred on Sir Ian its leading award, the Gold Medal for career achievement, and from 2006-08 he served as President of the Sir Ian was made a Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004. His knighthood was announced earlier this month in the New Year’s Honours List.

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