The Routine: In relation to house development in Brookville

Abstract

This thesis aims to study the past in order to design better for the future. The past can tell how house design responds to suit domestic routines in different historical backgrounds. The benefit of studying the past is to learn from the experience of previous generations so that new designs can reflect local architecture history and identity. The study targeted the houses in one of the oldest land subdivisions: Brookville in Freemans Bay, Auckland. The 1860 subdivision experienced the transition of several stages of house evolution and is considered representative as an example for the general house development in the New Zealand suburban environment. The investigation takes the form of both literature reviews and case studies. As the site was occupied by mainly single dwellings with Western influences, the literature reviews have only covered the period between the early European arrivals and the mid-twentieth century, when the general houses were still relevant to the major typologies of the site. In August and September 2016, a survey was conducted in order to study the transformation of old houses in detail. Five sets of measured drawings were produced of five local houses, mostly built in the nineteenth century. The key finding is that the site and its old houses frequently have been modified according to changing social conditions. The research has found four social conditions which shape people‘s domestic routine, and therefore can be regarded as the vectors to trigger the transformation of houses. They are the housing situation, government policy, technology, value and social relationships. In response to the aim of the thesis, the research connected Brookville‘s house development to the wider social context in history, explained the meanings and values embedded in current domestic layouts, presented a clearer progress of the development of local houses, and ultimately prepared a brief knowledge base to design houses belonging to the country.