493 – 507 Adelaide Road, Berhampore, Wellington
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Image: WCC - Charles Collins, 2015
Image: WCC - Charles Collins, 2015
Ground floor plan. WCC archives ref 00044_0_213
Ground floor plan. WCC archives ref 00044_0_213
"A start has been made by the contractors with the erection of the multiple-dwelling block at Berhampore for the State Housing Department. When completed it will be the largest building of its kind in New Zealand, containing fifty separate flats and eleven garages. In the background is the Berhampore Tennis Club’s premise."
STATE FLATS AT BERHAMPORE EXHIBITION HOTEL Evening Post, 26 May 1939, Page 7
"Two views of the block of fifty self-contained flats, ranging in size from one room with bed recess, bathroom and kitchenette, to the equivalent of a four-roomed cottage, which is well on the way towards completion for the Government Housing Construction Department in Adelaide road, Berhampore. This multiple-unit block is the largest if its kind in New Zealand. Except for the western wing, shown in the foreground of each picture, the main building construction is practically complete."
Evening Post, 2 March 1940, Page 9
"The centre court of the modern block of flats erected by the Government at Berhampore, and officially opened yesterday afternoon by the Minister of Housing, the Hon. H.T. Armstrong. Left, the Minister speaking at the opening ceremony, with Mr McKeen, member for the district, and Mr T.C.A Hislop, Mayor of Wellington, is listening."
Evening Post, 2 November 1940, Page 7
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Builder(s)
Messrs Lindsay and Maidment for the Government Housing Construction Department
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The Berhampore Flats have architectural value as a good representative example of a 1930s Modernist medium density social housing scheme, that though common internationally, are relatively rare in New Zealand. The flats are notable for the well considered horizontal rhythm of balconies, strip windows and flat roofs that contrast well with the vertical emphasis of the stair towers, and the curvilinear elements of the circular central hall, port-hole windows, and curved balcony ends.
The flats are associated with the social policy of the 1935 Labour Government and were an endeavour to solve a chronic housing shortage. They were a prototype to trial a European model of medium and high density housing, and conform to a style that was popularised in Modernist manifestos of the era.
The Berhampore Flats are considered to be one of the first, largest and most complete schemes of Modernist architecture to have been built in New Zealand.
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History
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Among the initiatives taken by the first Labour Government, elected in 1935, was to provide a range of state-built accommodation to alleviate a severe housing shortage. There had been previous attempts to solve the problem of a shortage of workers’ housing, most notably the Workers’ Dwelling Act of 1905, which resulted in the construction of high-quality houses at the city fringe. The scheme not particularly successful as the houses were soon occupied by the middle-classes rather than the urban poor, but the legacy of the Act was the ideal of workers’ accommodation as a single house, semi-detached pair of houses, or small scale block of flats, all located on a large suburban site surrounded by a garden. This was the blueprint for the majority of State Houses built in the 1930s and beyond.
New Zealand was not the only country to face a shortage of worker’s housing. The problem of poor quality, poorly designed and expensive housing for the urban poor were addressed in the various manifestos of the European Modern Movement. The movement, led by architects, designers and artists, theorised that well designed egalitarian environments could solve society’s social problems. The manifestos were circulated internationally and European medium to high-density housing schemes soon became a template for the provision of worker’s housing.
In New Zealand these schemes were seen as a solution for the provision of affordable housing for those who did not form part of a traditional nuclear family unit. The development at Berhampore was seen as a prototype experiment that could dispel the perceived prejudice of New Zealanders against the ‘terrace, the tenement, or flat’, particularly in areas where the housing shortage was acute, land values high, and where workers relied on an established network of public transport for their daily commute.
The Berhampore (Centennial) Flats were constructed on Adelaide Road, at the southern end of Berhampore, on land set aside by the Wellington District Board of Education from as early as 1877. Their construction coincided with the 1940 New Zealand Centennial celebrations, and, although the flats were named in honour of this event, they were soon better known as the Berhampore State Flats, or more simply as the Berhampore Flats. The buildings were characterised by flat roofs, clean lines and by a lack of decoration, and the flats are said to be one of the first, largest and most complete schemes of buildings designed in the ‘International Style’ of Modernism to have been built in New Zealand. The buildings lined the perimeter of the rectangular site and formed a quadrangle around a circular community hall set within a wide shared lawn. This provision of communal recreational facilities was consistent with the social programme of the Modern Movement that included concepts of public health, natural sunlight and open spaces. The layout of the site around a central quadrangle is said to have been influenced by the English Garden City movement, but there are also many examples of Modernist courtyard housing projects and these include Jan Wils’ Daal en Berg Estate, Papverhof, Netherlands (1919-22), Bruno Taut and Martin Wagner’s Horseshoe Building at the GEHAG Housing Association, Berlin (1925 – 26), Karl Ehn’s Karl-Marx-Hof in Vienna (1926) and J.J.P Oud’s proposal at Blijdorp, Netherlands (1931 -32).
The successful tenderer was the firm of Lindsay and Maidment and work began in late 1938. The construction programme coincided with the first year of WWII, and this in turn caused a labour shortage that delayed completion of the housing project. The buildings were built in phases and the northern flats were the first to be occupied in mid 1940, these were followed by buildings to the east and south and then at western perimeter of the site. The complex was formally opened on the 1st November 1940.
The government’s policy was for the flats to be let to individuals and couples, rather than to young couples or families with young children. In 1941, at a time when the 10,000th state house neared completion, there were a further 21,848 people on the waiting list for social housing. The new flats were so popular, and the local housing shortage so acute, that there were many times more applicants than could be housed at Berhampore. This led the then Minister of Housing to comment that ‘… to secure one of them was like a win in a lottery.’
When the flats were first listed in Wises Street Directory in 1943 there were 33 tenants and of those 22 were in paid employment. The trades of the first tenants were said to be a ‘… cook, three shop assistants, two soldiers, a green keeper, a store-man, a saleswoman, two railway employees, a compositor, a caretaker, a machinist, a mechanic, a welder, a baker, a butcher, eight pensioners, an office cleaner, seven civil servants, four clerks, three salesmen, a typist, a radio technician, a police constable, an iron moulder, a Harbour Board employee, a warehouseman, a plumber, a City Council employee, and a dressmaker.’ This list was prepared to answer questions that were raised in parliament that included - whether the construction of state houses would prevent private developments; whether those who had been allocated a property were those in the most acute need; and whether the provision of state houses was financially viable. The minister replied to the last question that the development at Berhampore came at an overall cost of £60,000 (to procure the land and construct the buildings) with gross takings of £4,000pa in rents. This gave a 6.66% return before deductions for rates, caretaking and insurance.
Of the 50 original flats, 12 were designed as ‘bed-sitting rooms’ with a kitchenette, bathroom and combined bedroom and living room, and there were also 10 one-bedroom, 26 two-bedroom, and 3 three-bedroom flats constructed around a central quadrangular courtyard. The layout of the flats was intended to maximise sunlight and ventilation, and the individual units were equipped with fitted kitchens, meat-safes and electric ovens. The living rooms were equipped with either a gas-fire or open hearth, hot water was provided by individual electric hot water cylinders, and each unit had access its own external washing line – some of which were (and still are) located on the roofs of the units. Communal facilities included a central radio aerial that was wired to socket outlets in each flat, a central circular social hall that was equipped with a stage and kitchenette, and a communal laundry and indoor drying room.
The successful completion of the Berhampore flats were soon followed by the construction of the Dixon Street flats (1942-1947). These were said to surpass their predecessors in ‘…style, architectural features, and also in regard to the number of single dwelling units they provide,’ and both sets of flats continue to be managed by the Government through Housing New Zealand, as do the Gordon Wilson Flats (1957-1959) that were the last large-scale high-density scheme of State Housing to be built in New Zealand. All three buildings have an association with architect Gordon Wilson who was the chief architect of the Housing Division of the Ministry of Works from 1943 – 1952, assistant Government Architect from 1948 – 1952, and Government Architect until his death in 1959.
The Berhampore Flats have been altered in recent years. The communal hall and laundry were converted into residential flats in the 1980s. The quadrangle lawn was subdivided, with an area to the north adapted to serve as an off street car-park, and parts of the lawn subdivided to provide individual gardens to the western wing of flats. Twelve two-storey ‘towers’, each with a steeply pitched roof, porthole windows and a wrap-around external stair, have been inserted next to each two storey flat – perhaps as works to improve the ‘means of escape’ in 1994 and to provide separate laundry facilities to each flat when the communal laundry room was converted to a residential unit.
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Modifications
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1938 - 1938
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Construction
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c.1980
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Laundry and community hall converted to residential units
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1994 - 1994
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Fire egress alterations SR 4323 & SR 4324
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2005 - 2005
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Installation of electric lift SR 128110
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Occupation History
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Architectural Information
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Building Classification(s)
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Architecture
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The Berhampore Flats development consists of five blocks of one, two and three storey buildings arranged around the perimeter of a rectangular site to form a quadrangle. The circular former community hall sits near the centre of the communal green space at the heart of the quadrangle. A strip of lawn at the northern end of the quadrangle has since been replaced by off-street parking, and the lawn around the circular former community hall has been fenced off as a private garden.
The blocks originally contained a total of 50 flats with garaging for 11, although this number has since increased with the conversion of the laundry and hall into residential units. The complex was designed as a careful arrangement of geometric forms with a well considered horizontal rhythm of balconies, strip windows and flat roofs. These contrast well with the vertical emphasis of the stair towers, and the curvilinear elements of the circular central hall, port-hole windows, and curved balcony ends. The overall effect is that of a streamlined ‘ocean liner’ and the design is typical of the International Style of Modernist Architecture of the inter-war period. The Dixon Street Flats (1943) are a further manifestation of this nautical aesthetic.
The buildings were constructed from load bearing reinforced concrete that was rendered and painted ‘a salmon shade’. They have since been re-painted white.
The internal planning of the flats corresponded to the conventional cellular layout of State Houses of the era, as did the detailed design of the timber joinery including the cupboards, timber windows and doors, and the kitchen units (although the sink benches were originally fitted with a terrazzo counter-top).
The buildings have been altered by the addition of the two storey laundry ‘towers’ and the additional fire escape balconies and stairs. The towers have been designed in a careful and relatively sensitive manner that shows a clear division between new and old.
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Materials
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Concrete structure – foundations, floors, walls & stairs
Timber internal partitions
Timber joinery – kitchens, cupboards, windows & doors
Flat roofs – with various coverings including asphalt (or similar) & corrugated sheet materials.
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Setting
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The Berhampore Flats are located among the predominantly Edwardian suburb of Berhampore. The development is surrounded by low rise timber houses and shops. The building to the immediate south of the complex on Adelaide Road is the similarly styled Art Deco /Moderne Romanian Orthodox Church of St Mary, and the buildings to the immediate north are a pair of small early 20th century villas.
The immediate setting of the buildings at the perimeter of a wide grassy quadrangle has been somewhat diminished by the addition of car-parks and by fencing within the, once open, recreational space.
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Cultural Value
The Berhampore Flats have architectural value as a good representative example of a 1930s Modernist medium density social housing scheme, that though common internationally, are relatively rare in New Zealand. The flats are notable for the well considered horizontal rhythm of balconies, strip windows and flat roofs that contrast well with the vertical emphasis of the stair towers, and the curvilinear elements of the circular central hall, port-hole windows, and curved balcony ends.
The flats are associated with the social policy of the 1935 Labour Government and were an endeavour to solve a chronic housing shortage. They were a prototype to trial a European model of medium and high density housing, and conform to a style that was popularised in Modernist manifestos of the era.
The Berhampore Flats are considered to be one of the first, largest and most complete schemes of Modernist architecture to have been built in New Zealand.
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Aesthetic Value
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Architectural
Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?
The Berhampore Flats have architectural value as a good representative example of a 1930s Modernist medium density social housing scheme, that though common internationally, are relatively rare in New Zealand. The flats are notable for the well considered horizontal rhythm of balconies, strip windows and flat roofs that contrast well with the vertical emphasis of the stair towers, and the curvilinear elements of the circular central hall, port-hole windows, and curved balcony ends.
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Group
Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?
The building has some group value when considered in context with other local social housing schemes designed by the office of Government Architect, Gordon Wilson. These include the Berhampore (Centennial) Flats (as the prototype medium-density ‘State’ housing scheme), the Dixon Street Flats (as the first high-density ‘State’ rental housing scheme), and the Gordon Wilson Flats (as the last large-scale high-density ‘State’ housing scheme to have been built in New Zealand).
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Historic Value
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Association
Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?
The flats are associated with the social policy of the 1935 Labour Government and were an endeavour to solve a chronic housing shortage. They were a prototype to trial a European model of medium and high density housing for New Zealand and conform to a style that was popularised in Modernist manifestos of the era. Architectural historians consider the scheme to be one of the first, largest and most complete schemes of Modernist architecture to have been built in New Zealand.
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Scientific Value
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Social Value
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Public Esteem
Is the item held in high public esteem?
The Berhampore (Centennial) Flats are held in high esteem by the architectural community and this can be seen by the number of architectural treatise that have been written about the buildings.
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Level of Cultural Heritage Significance
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Level
The Berhampore (Centennial) Flats are held in high esteem by the architectural community and this can be seen by the number of architectural treatise that have been written about the buildings.
The Berhampore (Centennial) Flats are said to be the first, largest and most complete scheme of Modernist social housing in New Zealand and have rarity value for this reason.
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Representative
Is the item a good example of the class it represents?
The buildings are a good representative example of Modernist architecture.
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Authentic
Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?
The buildings retain much of their original built fabric although there have been some modern additions and alterations to the buildings’ exteriors – most notably the addition of fire escapes and laundry ‘towers’.
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Local - Regional - National - International
Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?
The Berhampore (Centennial) Flats have a national significance for their contribution to architectural history in New Zealand and this can be seen by the many architectural treatise that have been written about the buildings.
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Local / Regional / National / International Importance
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Site Detail
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District Plan Number
6/398
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Legal Description
Lot 2 DP 57300 City of Wellington
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Heritage New Zealand Listed
1/Historic place 7432
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Archaeological Site
Risk unknown
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Has building been funded
No
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Funding Amount
Not applicable
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Earthquake Prone Status
Not Earthquake Prone
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To be assessed
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Additional Information
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Sources
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QUESTIONS ON HOUSING Evening Post, 6 November 1940
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STATE FLATS Evening Post, 2 November 1940
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GOVERNMENT FLATS Evening Post, 4 October 1938
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HOUSING EXPERIMENT Evening Post, 24 March 1938
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STATE HOUSES Evening Post, 24 January 1941
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VARIETY OF CALLINGS Evening Post, 4 November 1940
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STATE FLATS Evening Post, 1 September 1943
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STATE FLATS AT BERHAMPORE EXHIBITION HOTEL Evening Post, 26 May 1939
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Evening Post, 2 November 1940
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FIFTY FLATS Evening Post, 2 March 1940
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Evening Post, 2 March 1940
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BERHAMPORE FLATS Evening Post, 11 September 1941
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CONTRACT LET Evening Post, 22 November 1938
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Gatley, Julia. ‘Centennial Flats (also known as the Berhampore Flats)’, in Long Live the Modern: New Zealand’s new architecture 1904 – 1984 (Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2008)
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Gatley J. “Berhampore Flats Registration Proposal”, prepared for NZHPT, December 1997
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Gatley, Julia. ‘Going up rather than out’ in, At Home in New Zealand: Houses, History, People, edited by Barbara Brookes (Bridget Williams Books, 2000), 149-150
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Gatley, Julia, “Wilson, Francis Gordon – Biography”, from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1 September 2010
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Gatley, Julia. “For Modern Living: Government Blocks of Flats” in Zeal and Crusade, (Christchurch: Waihora Press, 1996)
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Gjerde, Morten. ‘New Zealand’s Concrete: Heritage in Housing’ in Concrete (CCANZ -Cement & Concrete Association of New Zealand, December 2010/January 2011)
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Kelly, Michael & DK, Berhampore Flats (photo) unpublished statement of significance prepared for the WCC Heritage Building Inventory 2001.
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McLean, Gavin. ‘Registration Proposal for an Historic Place: Berhampore Flats’ unpublished proposal for registration by the NZHPT, 1998
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Schrader, Ben. 'Housing and government - State loans and state houses', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 13-Jul-12
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WCC archives ref 00044_0_213
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Wises Street Directory – 1943
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Technical Documentation
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Last updated: 11/23/2016 11:04:30 PM
