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Sir Ian Athfield 1940 - 2015

Sir Ian Athfield 1940 - 2015

Dr Julia Gatley, School of Architecture and Planning senior lecturer and Associate Dean (Academic) of NICAI, was a student of Sir Ian Athfield when she was studying architecture in the 1980s, and recently published Athfield Architects. Here she reflects on 'Ath', his life and a career as an architect who challenged assumptions and pushed boundaries.

Written by Dr Julia Gatley

Ath was one of the great talents of New Zealand architecture. He was highly original, creative, prolific and collaborative. He was also a lateral thinker with a wicked sense of humour. He enjoyed tomfoolery, and it served him well on numerous occasions. Ath will be remembered as a big personality of New Zealand architecture.

From age seven, he knew he wanted to become an architect. In 1961, he moved from Christchurch to complete a Diploma of Architecture at the University of Auckland. Student projects were described as 'Mies/Gaudi collages'. He was also influenced by Mediterranean villages and the Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck, who talked about the in-between. It became an enduring theme in his work, particularly in attention to the spaces between buildings.

Ath formed his own office, Athfield Architects, in Wellington in 1968. It grew in the house he had designed and started building for himself and wife Clare. The house was intentionally different from established norms, in an effort to attract interesting clients. It worked, with distinctive Athfield houses soon sprouting up and down Wellington hillsides, each with numerous small spaces and multiple roof forms. This was the counter-culture of New Zealand architecture.

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But he was more interested in housing than houses. He bemoaned the monotony of suburbia and encouraged architects to pursue alternatives to it. He developed these ideas in a competition-winning, but ultimately unbuilt, design for 'squatter housing' in Manila. This project was very widely published internationally.

Ath also worked hard to break into commercial work, pursuing collaborations with established firms and developers. This brought a variety of commissions throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s. Key among them are Wellington's First Church of Christ Scientist, Oriental Bay Apartments and Telecom House.

Then from 1987, the firm secured public and institutional work, starting with Civic Square and the Wellington Public Library and continuing with the development of the Wellington Waterfront and much educational work, both at Victoria University's Kelburn Campus and for a range of other secondary and tertiary institutions. The Adam Gallery in Kelburn is among the best of these.

Ath held important roles as President of the New Zealand Institute of Architects from 2006-2008 and a member of the New Zealand Historic Place Trust’s Board of Trustees and Maori Heritage Council from 2009. He also served as Architectural Ambassador to quake-damaged Christchurch from 2010.

Ath's legacy is rich and multi-layered. It includes the built works of Athfield Architects as well as the firm itself, which now has offices in Christchurch and Auckland as well as Wellington. It also includes his impact on New Zealand architectural culture. He had a public voice and spoke his mind on a broad range of issues, challenging people both within and beyond the discipline.

Sir Ian Athfield is survived by his wife Clare, sons Jesse and Zac and their wives Xia Li and Sarah, and grandchildren Lilly, Isla, Phoebe, Tommy and Sylvie.

He is, and will continue to be, deeply missed by many, many more.

Sir Ian Athfield’s list of honours:
New Zealand Commemorative Medal (1990)
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (1996)
University of Auckland Distinguished Alumnus (1997)
Honorary Doctor of Literature, Victoria University of Wellington (2002)
New Zealand Institute of Architects Gold Medallist (2004)
Honorary Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (2008)
Designers Institute of New Zealand’s John Britten Black Pin (2012)
Icon of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand (2014)
Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (2014)

ENDS


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