A few years ago while I was on a trip back in New Zealand I photographed the Art Deco houses of Napier. Whilst going through my slides the other weekend I came across these shots. I really like the way the facades are peaking out from behind the vegetation which has grown up around them.
Napier was devastated by the Hawkes Bay earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt in the architectural style of the time. Art Deco emphased clean simple lines & lack of ornamentation. This style was a practical solution; it was very different from the heavily ornamentated colonial buildings which had caused so much devastation in the earthquake.
what great houses - if only more places could have been rebuilt so stylishly.
ReplyDeleteMary, these are so gorgeous !
ReplyDeleteYou do have the great eye for architecture.
have a lovely week end !
Oh, My friend has told me about this place, she said I would just love it, so great to see actual photographs, what a great era, thanks for a great post X
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely series. I like how it has two layers: the vegetation and the houses. At first glance I focused entirely on the trees and I only really noticed the architecture when you mentioned it (and my dad's an architect...shame on me :-) ).
ReplyDeleteThanks for your sweet comment on my blog :-)
this is the real napier i know!
ReplyDeletewhen i was a kid travelling in the back seat of the car, me and my sister used to call out "flat" for these art deco flat roof homes and "normal" for standard roof homes. i forgot about our little game until i saw your post. amazing photos by the way! i need to learn some tips from you...
and that tree in the first photo, i used to love playing in them at anderson park in greenmeadows!
I loved these houses I visited Napier and have seen them in small numbers elsewhere in NZ but certainly not a whole suburb like these in Marewa.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
David
mr sekimachiato - what a great image of you and your sister in the back seat of the car calling out 'flat' and
ReplyDelete'normal'. those long kiwi car trips seemed to last for ever!
david - thanks for your comments. i've been dipping into your blog this weekend.
Very cool design. Thank you for sharing this, and I've enjoyed reading through your blog.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photographs. I love these big friendly bushes complementing the houses.
ReplyDelete