The Hobson Magazine

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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.

Architectural Awards reveals More Winners!

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The winning just doesn’t stop!

The Institute of Architects’ Local Awards for Auckland were held last night and I’m thrilled to see some of my clients fantastic work has been recognised.

Congratulations to:

AUT Sir Paul Reeves Building: Jasmax Limited

Takapuna House: Athfield Architects

University of Auckland University Hall: Warren and Mahoney Architects

Cliff Top House: Xsite Architects

Arruba Bay Bach: Bossley Architects

Good luck everyone for the Nationals which will be announced in 2014!

Vote NOW for the maggie awards

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The Maggies, more formally known as the Magazine Cover Awards 2013, are upon us.

VOTE NOW (pretty please) for my Architecture NZ magazine cover featuring Parnell’s Geyser building.
It’s as simple as heading over to Business and Trade Section after leaping via this link and then hitting the Submit Vote page.

And you’ll score a magazine voucher too. Ace.

Final votes must be made by Friday 17 October.

New Publications Galleries

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Looking for some fresh images for your eyeballs?
Recently loaded onto the site are photographs from two publications I have worked on.

To get your through the final days of winter and inspire you for the warmer days ahead, there’s Summer Houses with writer Andrea Stevens. I have captured more than 20 of this country’s most stunning homes and holiday retreats, each designed to maximise the connection to their environment and provide for a relaxed style of living.

View the gallery here »

Group Architects

In 1946 a precocious bunch of second-year Auckland architecture students in 1946 established themselves as what would become Group Architects, a celebrated architectural practice which still influences architects, thrills lovers peace, light comfort and beauty today. This book, edited by Julia Gatley follows the group from their early mid-century beginnings through to the structures still used today.

View the gallery here »

New Photography Galleries

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Two new galleries are now up for your viewing pleasure.

In the domestic gallery is Stradwick House in Auckland, designed by Marc Lithgow of Space Division. Awarded 2011 New Zealand Institute of Architects Auckland Architecture Award for Residential Architecture, this sensitively created family home sits on a tree filled section on the North Western slopes of Mount Albert.

View the gallery here »

Omarino, Bay of Islands, NZ

Nestled in the heart of New Zealand’s iconic Bay of Islands is picture perfect Omarino, the subject of my latest addition to the Process Gallery.
The photographs were used in a campaign developed by Jill Brinsdon of branding studio Radiation to promote parcels of land in this stunning location.

View the gallery here »

How well do you know your NZ Architects?

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Naming names may win you a rather lovely prize.

Head over to my new People in NZ Architecture gallery, list all the names of the faces and send them through to me.

All complete and correct entries will be in the draw to win a signed copy of my new book Portrait of a House made on 1 October 2013.

Send your lists to simon@simondevitt.com

Bribes considered. One entry per person. Other obscure conditions may also apply.

‘Portrait of a house’ a Best Design Awards Finalist

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Big ups to the team at Inhouse Design for arriving in the finals of the New Zealand Best Design Awards, Editorial and Books section.

Although no doubt slightly biased, it’s looking like a gold from here for Arch MacDonnell, Toby Curnow and Sarah Gladwell.

Awards will be announced on Friday 11 October in Auckland.

Vogue Australia

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The award-winning Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects ‘Hut on sleds’ bach photographed at Whangapoua in the Coromandel Peninsula is featured in the latest Australia Vogue Living Magazine July/August 2013. Catch a peek of the bedroom here, and head to your nearest and dearest magazine shop for a copy.

Sled

 

Winner 2013 Simon Devitt Prize for Photography

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Samuel Wong is the winner of this years prize for his entry ‘Rider’.

My description of his winning entry:

“The winning photograph left me in no doubt. Its a picture I wish I had made myself. The sense of the uncanny, the surreal and a poetic nod to the theme are all captivating characteristics of the winning photograph. The winning entry reveals a deceptively ambiguous narrative that held my attention and begged re-visiting. Its success rests, uneasily in between the everyday and the otherworldly.”

 

Dwell.com Review of Portrait of a House

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May 31, 2013

PHOTOGRAPHY FOCUS:
SIMON DEVITT’S
PORTRAIT OF A HOUSE

New Zealand photographer Simon Devitt has been capturing homes and homeowners in for close to fifteen years. His new book, Portrait of a House, collaborates with graphic designer Arch MacDonnell of Inhouse Design. Portrait of a House is a photo album of the Athfield House or “The Village on the Hill” known by Wellington, New Zealand locals. The Athfield House is an architectural experiment started by Ian Athfield in 1965 on the Khandallah hillside in Wellington. It’s quite reminiscent of the Mos Eisley Cantina on the planet Tattooine, in Star Wars, Episode IV.

The idea for this photo book came from Devitt’s inspiration from other shelter photo books such as Robin Morrison’s 1978 book Images of a House. “A house is a pretty refined subject to make a book about,” explains Devitt. “It is not market driven, it is content driven and born out of passion. Life has happened there like in no other house, and the ‘living’ leaves its evidence, time has played out on its surface. There is a lot to be said about sitting still and how that looks. The Athfield house is a wonderful example of this. An accessible counterpoint to a largely asset based living that pervades New Zealand.”

The “living” Devitt refers to is the extensive colorful dinner parties with it’s well-known local bohemians (as seen in our slideshow) & the mass livestock that roam the property. Simon Devitt is the recent recipient of the New Zealand Architecture Awards’ Presidential citation for photography. He also has a lecture in Photography of Architecture at the University of Auckland.

Portrait of a House is a combination of beautiful architectural & lifestyle photography as well as bits of historical images, take a peek inside at some of the beautiful photography Simon Devitt has created for his debut publication.

www.dwell.com