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dixon street flats

Guide 1946 A

Guide 1946 B

Photos from Wellington Guide published circa 1946.

Dixon St Flats 4414

Dixon Street Flats 4415

Designed & Built: 1940-42 Opened 1943

Location: Dixon Street, Wellington

Commission:

Designed for Department of Housing Construction, where Plischke was employed. The DHC was formed in 1937 to manage a state housing programme and to provide work for unemployed building workers. It was merged into the Ministry of Works in 1943.

Plischke’s role in this project remains unclear. Gordon Wilson, the Government architect of the day, is officially the “architect of record”. However, Plischke is popularly thought to have played a significant part in the design.

Received NZIA Gold Award in 1947

Construction Details:

Built by Wellington contractor J.L.Wilkins. Reinforced concrete construction. The form is a vertical slab. First European-style large scale housing in Wellington. 10-storey, 116-unit block of flats. Central entrance with stairs and lifts, emergency stairways at each end.

Some modifications made since, including change to roofline and addition of covered carpark.

Current Status

Still in use today.

Heritage Status:

Category I.
Register No. 7395
Date Registered: 27 June 1997
The HPT entry attributes design of the building to Gordon Wilson.
Dixon Street Flats 4416

Design Features:

The small, single-bedroom units were designed to be suitable only for couples without children at home.

The flats were officially opened on 4 Sept 1943, but not officially completed until 1 March 1944 (not entirely unrelated to the General Election held in late 1943).
Dixon Street Flats 4417

The Dixon Street Flats today. Photographs: Tony Richardson 2009

Sources:


August Sarnitz and Eva B. Ottillinger. Ernst Plischke: Modern Architecture for the New World; the Complete Works. Prestel, 2004., pp.143-149
David Kernohan, “Modern Moves” in "Architecture NZ;", Nov/Dec 1995, pp.83-91
Julia Gatley, “For Modern Living: Government Blocks of Flats” in Wilson, John (ed.). "Zeal and Crusade: The Modern Movement in Wellington". Te Waihora Press, 1996,, pp.53-60.
Julia Gatley, "Privacy and Propaganda: The Politics of the Dixon Street Flats" in "Fabrications 7, August 1996, pp.77-98.
Linda Tyler, The Architecture of E.A. Plischke in New Zealand. Unpublished thesis, University of Canterbury, 1986, pp.46-52.

The Historic Places Trust page can be seen here