Objectspace returns to Ōtautahi Christchurch this March, launching a programme of architecture-focused exhibitions in the Garden City. And where better to display said fusion of art and architecture than the birthplace of Aotearoa’s modernist movement: 65 Cambridge Terrace. 

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Built in 1962 as a house for Sir Miles Warren and a studio for the Warren & Mahoney partnership, the riverside building remains one of the finest architectural examples of Christchurch modernism. Designed as two double-height boxes on legs, the original concrete-block building has extended and adapted over the years. A tiny apartment was tacked onto the roof at some point, and in the late 1970s, an L-shaped flat was built out back – its chief purpose being to block views to the dreary neighbouring offices. 

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The Sir Miles Warren Gallery sits in what was once the flat’s living area. It’s here, in this thin, stretching room, that Objectspace will take up residence. A tall gallery wall runs down one side, naturally lit by a full-length skylight, while sliding glass doors on the opposite side open to a wild green garden and reflection pond. “It’s palpable that this site both expresses and served as a backdrop to Warren’s 60-year contribution to architecture in Aotearoa,” says Objectspace director Kim Patton. “We’re excited to bring exhibitions into the space that celebrate and provoke new assessments of architectural thought and practice.” 

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The new programme will launch with the Ōtautahi showing of Oceanic Architectural Routes: The Photographic Archive of Mike Austin. Curated by Albert L. Refiti and presented by Architectus, the exhibition shares photographs of Austin’s travels across the Pacific from the late 1960s to 2006. 

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The collection offers a glimpse into Pacific architecture and culture, and provided the foundation for Austin’s studies and teachings at the University of Auckland School of Architecture. “Much of the architecture profession will have come across – if not been taught by – Austin,” says Patton. “But Oceanic Architectural Routes marks the first public showing of the images and ideas that formed the basis of Austin’s decades of teaching and practice.” 

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Objectspace at Sir Miles Warren Gallery
From March 2023
‍objectspace.org.nz

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