THE GUS FISHER GALLERY
The Kenneth Myers Centre
74 Shortland St
Auckland, New Zealand
Telephone: 3737 599 ext 86646
www.gusfishergallery.auckland.ac.nz
12 October – 24 November 2007
Gallery One: Vernon Brown: From the Architecture Archive
In the middle of the twentieth century, maverick personalities prevailed at Auckland University’s School of Architecture. Dominating teaching there for twenty-two years was a tall Liverpudlian with abundant energy, a caustic turn of phrase, and an enthusiasm for all things characteristic of his adopted country – Vernon Brown. Often credited with inventing a vernacular style of building based on the bach, he took a firm stand against buildings that spoke with foreign accents, advocating preservation of the familiar kiwi twang.
Wood was the way to go, he reckoned; flexible and cheap to build with, and easy to treat with natural preservatives to withstand the wet and warm climate of Auckland. His characteristic “Brown box” approach to domestic architecture was rectangular in shape with a mono-pitched roof and weatherboards stained black with Stockholm tar. This inaugurated the distinctive black-and-white colour scheme which would become Vernon Brown’s hallmark and earn his buildings the description of looking like coconuts with a bite taken out. Throughout the 35 years of his life in architecture, a glamorous exterior remained less important to Vernon Brown than a design that could re-create the fun and informality of a summer holidays on Waiheke. His houses epitomised the egalitarian ethos of New Zealand as a classless society, and as an architect he became the preferred option for Auckland’s cultural elite. To survey Vernon Brown's contribution to New Zealand architecture, this exhibition includes models built by current students from the School of Architecture and Planning, and photographs and plans from the Architecture Archive.
Saturday 13 October, 1pm Architecture tour: Vernon Brown in the Eastern Suburbs
Meet at the Gus Fisher Gallery to join Linda Tyler and Jonathan Gibb, curators of the Vernon Brown: From the Architecture Archive exhibition, for a bus-tour of Vernon Brown-designed houses around the Eastern Suburbs. Please RSVP to gusfishergallery@auckland.ac.nz – cost $10.
Saturday 20 October, 1pm Architecture tour: Vernon Brown on the North Shore
Meet at the Gus Fisher Gallery to join Linda Tyler and Jonathan Gibb, curators of the Vernon Brown: From the Architecture Archive exhibition, for a bus-tour of Vernon Brown-designed houses on the North Shore. Please RSVP to gusfishergallery@auckland.ac.nz – cost $10.
Saturday 10 November, 1pm
Jonathan Gibb and Linda Tyler on Vernon Brown
Exhibition curators Jonathan Gibb and Linda Tyler discuss the work of Vernon Brown.
Saturday 24 November, 1pm Bill McKay on the Group Architects
Bill Mckay from The University of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning discusses the influential Group Architects, who followed Vernon Brown in pioneering a vernacular style of architecture.
