Docomomo NZ Welcomes Court Decision on Gordon Wilson Flats

Gordon Wilson Flats - Environment Court Decision

Docomomo New Zealand welcomes the recent decision by the Environment Court to overturn the proposed Wellington City Council District Plan Change to rezone the land on which the Gordon Wilson Flats are located and delist the significant heritage building, thereby facilitating the Victoria University’s intention to demolish.

The successful campaign by Wellington’s Architectural Centre to retain the listed status of the Flats represents a great achievement in the face of significant uncertainty for New Zealand’s mid-century architectural heritage. The local debate that has ensued about a social housing block that was modern for its time, but now empty and disregarded, has polarised opinions, with reasoned arguments for keeping a representational building that can be ‘purposeful’ again versus advocacy by those who only want to retain the ‘beautiful’ architecture. To have a meaningful debate is a good thing, because it provides an opportunity to air the fundamental issues around the reuse of existing buildings – in particular the valuable contribution of those built during an important mid-century period of developments in design and construction, that can now be adapted for new use.

The Architectural Centre strongly and persuasively identified the unique qualities of an efficient multi-occupancy building that has been neglected by its present and past owners, in a time of housing shortage no less.

The acceptance by the Environment Court of the highly significant heritage values of a building that does not fit within the generally perceived view of the historic, demonstrates that the functional, as well as the beautiful, has a place in the nation’s cultural heritage.

Phillip Hartley, President, Docomomo NZ
New Zealand chapter of the International Committee for the Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement

ENDS

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