John Scott Works is a personal visual response to the work of acclaimed New Zealand architect John Scott. Photographer David Straight explores the essence of Scott’s work – from intimate images of architectural details and moments, to ideas rooted in te ao Māori which are found in Scott's work. It is a celebration of one New Zealand’s most important architects and a timely acknowledgment not only of his buildings but also his place within our wider cultural context.
John Scott was born in Haumoana, Hawkes Bay in June 1924. Scott’s mother, Kathleen Hiraani Blake was of English, Irish, and Māori descent, with links to Te Atiawa iwi of Taranaki and his father Charles Scott, of Scottish and Māori descent, was born at Ohinemutu in Rotorua
Scott was a regional modernist, an architect who responded to people and land. His architecture was not about the monumental, or the ego, but more about people and how they lived in and used space, it is a humane, humble and subtle form of architecture, immensely intelligent, playful and clever.
The way Scott combined his mix of Māori and European ancestry into his buildings is one of the standout features of a very New Zealand form of architecture.
As Hana Scott writes, “It was only natural that JC explored who he was through past and present observations and proceeded to confidently challenge and translate them into what he knew, as built form.
From looking at his buildings, one can see that he developed a set of design protocols or Tikanga derived from a matrix of beliefs of both Māori and European concepts, tangible and intangible, and confidently bound them together. The manifestation of those ideas can be seen across his body of work as a solid framework that was ever evolving.”
He died in July 1992 following heart complications.
Opening hours
- Tuesday - Friday 10am - 5pm, Saturday - Sunday 10am - 4pm
Objectspace
- 13 Rose Road
- Ponsonby 1021
John Scott Works is a personal visual response to the work of acclaimed New Zealand architect John Scott. Photographer David Straight explores the essence of Scott’s work – from intimate images of architectural details and moments, to ideas rooted in te ao Māori which are found in Scott's work. It is a celebration of one New Zealand’s most important architects and a timely acknowledgment not only of his buildings but also his place within our wider cultural context.
John Scott was born in Haumoana, Hawkes Bay in June 1924. Scott’s mother, Kathleen Hiraani Blake was of English, Irish, and Māori descent, with links to Te Atiawa iwi of Taranaki and his father Charles Scott, of Scottish and Māori descent, was born at Ohinemutu in Rotorua
Scott was a regional modernist, an architect who responded to people and land. His architecture was not about the monumental, or the ego, but more about people and how they lived in and used space, it is a humane, humble and subtle form of architecture, immensely intelligent, playful and clever.
The way Scott combined his mix of Māori and European ancestry into his buildings is one of the standout features of a very New Zealand form of architecture.
As Hana Scott writes, “It was only natural that JC explored who he was through past and present observations and proceeded to confidently challenge and translate them into what he knew, as built form.
From looking at his buildings, one can see that he developed a set of design protocols or Tikanga derived from a matrix of beliefs of both Māori and European concepts, tangible and intangible, and confidently bound them together. The manifestation of those ideas can be seen across his body of work as a solid framework that was ever evolving.”
He died in July 1992 following heart complications.
