Skip to main content

Kōrero: Housing

Mirror house

Image
Mirror house

The postmodern style moved away from the strongly linear, block-like forms of modernism to reintroduce curvilinear, angular and other shapes into housing design. This is evident in the 'mirror house' built in 1984 on Auckland's Takapuna beachfront. Postmodernism was also known for its eclecticism, borrowing motifs from the past – such as from classical architecture – and arranging them in new and sometimes witty ways. While it provided humour and relief from the soberness of modernism, the joke wore thin by the 1990s and the style fell from favour.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Flickr: peteshep's photostream

by Peter Sheppard

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Ben Schrader, Housing – Style and form, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/38648/mirror-house (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Ben Schrader, i tāngia i te 3 December 2012.