ARCHITECT MEDAL

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 282, 27 November 1940, Page 6

ARCHITECT MEDAL

AWARD TO AUCKLAND.

DESIGN OF MODERN HOME.

One of the few Aucklandera who has won the New Zealand Institute of Architects' 'bronze medal for domestic architecture, Mr. Vernon A. Brown, has been awarded the honour for 1940. The award ha« been made for a design of a Siouije built in Arney Road, Remuera.

The house is one of seven rooms, built of wood, with corrugated asbestos roof, and represents a simple solution of the problem of constructing with ordinary materials a dwelling of normal size at

moderate cost. The plan is of the "open" type, a maximum of visual space 'being obtained by the use of glaa* screens to separate rooms of different functions. Also, an interesting feature is the use of murals to cover interior wall surfaces. Wherever possible, all fittings are a part of the structure. A small entrance ball gives access on one side to an L-shaped living room and on tlie other side to a dining room. The more private portions of the house, such ae bedrooms, bathroom and kitolien, open off a small enclosed passage. Generally, the result is one of maximum convenience and comfort, conveying an appearance of simplicity and elegance. Use has been made of large

windows, extending down to the floor level, to "bring the garden into the 'house." The site is part of an old Auckland garden, with numerous tree®, flowering eihrubn and hedges.

Mr. Brown, who qualified as an architect in London, came out to the Dominion 12 years ago. He is 35 years of age, a member of the Royal Society of Arts, London, and from 1935 to 1940 was on the council of the Auckland •Society of Arts. He has written extensively on architecture and decoration, and for the past two years has been lecturer on interior decoration at the Auckland University College.

Beside* his architectural activities, Mr. Brown has been an exhibitor of paintings for many years past at New Zealand art shows, and his work as an artist has attracted wide attention; One of his pictures was shown at the Empire Exhibition of Paintings in London. He has also designed book jackets for overseas publishers. Mr. Brown has inherited an architectural tradition, his father and grandfather having been architects in London.