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Foreword

Good housing matters. More than ever people are realising the importance of the places they live in to the well-being of their families and of their communities. Increasing thought and effort is being directed to designing and building better houses for all.

Much can be done to improve the design and construction of the present-day house. Its erection is cosdy and troublesome, so that once built, it is made to last from generation to generation. Most people base their ideas on domestic design on houses of their acquaintance and form their conception of the house they would like to build from the examples, both good and bad, of others they know or have lived in.

Loan authorities base their ideas of domestic design on what will protect their investment, and understandably favour what will have universal appeal. Public housing authorities base their ideas on the needs and tastes of the average family.

Thus the influence of environment, tradition and finance tends to make all houses fundamentally the same. This sameness, unless handled with skill in siting and street-planning, leads to the dull uniformity so typical of our suburban streets. Many people feel that this monotony of environment prevents their enjoying a fuller life. To some extent this explains suburbia's flight to escapist amusements or to the week-end bach. Too often the home loses its place as the centre of family activity and becomes a dormitory for eating and sleeping.

It is not claimed that the Demonstration House is a complete answer to this problem. However, it may suggest ways in which a home can be a more satisfactory place in which to spend leisure time—a place where the family wants to be and not a place from which its members want to escape.

The house is the unit which, multiplied many times, together with communal and commercial buildings, makes up the town. Last year the Architectural Centre planned a new shopping and business area for Te Aro Flat. That also was an answer to the flight from the city. Cities need not be ugly, nor suburbs monotonous nor houses dormitory-like. Architects, town-planners and engineers can create new cities and replan old ones which once again will be pleasant to live in.

The Demonstration House has been designed for conditions peculiar to Wellington. These are high hills, high winds, and high average sunshine. The design shows how the wind can be defeated and the sun exploited in order to give full scope for outdoor living. It permits ideal open-air conditions for children to play and for parents to lounge and for the family to enjoy casual meals in privacy and pleasantness. The terraced garden makes the patio even more livable. Every room in the house looks on to it, and it offers the shelter to the plants which Wellington gardeners so cherish. By way of contrast, the steep and rough slopes surrounding the house have not been cultivated. Most rooms also overlook these banks and they have been planted with suitable native trees and shrubs which in time will make an ideal setting for the house.

The Demonstration House is not a minimum house. The increased demand for housing and consequent shortages in recent years had tended to keep all housing to a minimum of floor area and equipment. The Architectural Centre considers that the time has arrived when thought should be given to provide something more than the austerity house. The house is within the permitted area for three-bedroom houses. While the U-shaped plan is more costly than the box-like plan, it is infinitely more livable. The finish and equipment is more costly than that of many recent houses but is by no means extravagant.

It is not suggested that the Demonstration House will suit every family or every site or every purse. It is suggested, however, that this house, in whole or in part, presents many new and pleasing ideas to those who are interested in domestic design and that it will stimulate that interest.

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