The lost bungalow and other stories

Abstract

This is a study of architectural writing in New Zealand. Its purpose is to discover interpretations of architecture outside the canon of New Zealand architectural writing that have been overlooked by architectural historians. From these writings, new interpretations of architectural history have been made. These interpretations bring into question the canon and the historical narratives it has created. In particular, this study challenges the canonical narrative of New Zealand architecture, a cyclical history that joins the distant past with the expected future to create the idea a national architecture that reflects New Zealand circumstances and character. This omissions and elisions of this narrative are challenged by close reading, bibliographical research and literary theory. Each chapter of this study is discreet. No attempt has been made to create a single narrative that connects the episodes described in these chapters. Such narratives can be found in the canonical texts, but these non-canonical writings undermine them. The episodes described in this study take place in the twentieth century. Their subjects are building types, architectural history and architectural writing.