I was chuffed to find Portrait of a House reviewed by Tommy Honey in The Hobson magazine December 2013 issue.

“The most intriguing and certainly the most personal book on architecture published this year is Portrait of a House (Balasoglou Books) by photographer Simon Devitt.

It is, as Devitt states, “a portrait of the Athfield House, the village on the hill”.

Ian Athfield, once the enfant terrible of New Zealand architecture, and his wife Claire, started building their house high on the hill in Khandallah, Wellington, nearly 50 years ago.

The story of their house is told almost entirely in pictures (some archival, some taken by Devitt over a 10 year period), anecdotes and recipes.

It is the intimate made public and a reflection of the Athfields’ generosity and Devitt’s commitment.

A beautiful, beautiful book.”

Urban design critic Tommy Honey is a former architect, now Dean of College at Parnell’s Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design. He lives in Remuera.