The Devonport Flagstaff Page 21
October 31 2014 large boiler. The buyers were Merle and Dave Woodhams together with another couple, who spent two years developing it into three loft apartments. Devonport Heritage architect Jeremy Salmond designed the middle unit, Apartment 2, for the Woodhams. Salmond remembers the huge project well. “The building was derelict and filthy. It had holes in it, concrete pit on the floor, engines. Everything had to be cleaned and redone,” he says. “It was an early Devonport loft conversion of a historic building, followed later by the Masonic Hall on Victoria Road and King Edward Parade’s Elizabeth House and the Fire Station on Calliope Road,” Salmond says. The challenge was scale. “No one has a need for a building that size, so we had to break the building’s large industrial scale up into a liveable one. Then we had to get light inside the walls and garden spaces along the northern side,” he says. The entire southern side of the building, about a third of its footprint, is an open parking space, generously reaching up into the roof. Salmond’s design conserved some of the original features. “We kept the trusses in the roof exposed, which give you a sense of the building’s original scale. And the great thing is that you can have this quite crude and course and industrial scale against the finer things of life, like art,” he says. Salmond is referring to the Woodhams’ extensive art collection that covered the walls of their home. Merle Woodhams was a painter and a section of the apartment was dedicated to a large studio accessible from the road. It had a small garden, where she painted but also taught life drawing classes for years both there and later at the Devonport Community House. Merle’s classes were later run by another local artist, Suza Lawrence. When the Woodhams left, Selwyn Muru, purchased their apartment. Muru is well known for “Wharoa,” his seven-metre-high gate on Aotea Square. He also created a distinctive
Power to the people…the Devonport Power Station in action front door for his Church Street apartment, which is still there. The apartment’s current owners, Dave Balcom and Peter Addis, have an “all-encompassing passion for art” as well and have collected contemporary New Zealand art for many years. Balcom was gallery manager at the Depot Artspace for three years and now works at Auckland Art Gallery. Other well known personalities to live a the building include artists Marilyn Tweedy and Rob Tucker, former longtime Flagstaff reporter Angie Kemp and her husband Geoff, an Auckland University political studies lecturer, and singer Debbie Harwood and husband recording engineer Paul. Balcom is fascinated by the artistic connections of the building. “The unit in the back, was developed by Marilyn Tweedy, who is said to have been part of the et al. collective that represented New Zealand at the 2005 Venice Biennale.” Each apartment has its own distinct look, says Balcom. “Back then, each couple hired their own architect to execute custom designs of the spaces. Unit 3 is a bit more contemporary, ours more traditional and the front one is more open space,” he says.
The floor spaces are huge, with some taken up by stairs and garden spaces. “Ours and the one in the back are pretty voluminous with about 400 square metres of floor space. The front apartment is slightly less,” he says. “These days, it would be more likely to be turned into 12 units to generate revenue, but the way it is maximises the quality of living for the residents here,” he says. Currently, the apartments are full of artists too. Merle Woodhams’ studio has been used by Rob Tucker for about six years. The front apartment is rented by Jay and Suzie Dixon and the back was owned until recently by singer Debbie Harwood and husband Paul Jeffery, a sound and lighting engineer. • On Sunday 9 November, Balcom and Addis are organising a third annual Church Street Art Sale at the building. It is run as a studio sale for artists (including Dixon and Tucker) to dispose of unsold or returned work from their dealers or galleries. They have selected 27 established artists to sell over 200 pieces. It runs from 11 am until 4 pm. • More Devonport Power Station pictures page 22
Cruise the Best of Europe Grand Med
Magic of the Med
13 nights & flights
25 nights & flights
5619
$
8179
$
*
Per person, twin share. Cruise departs 21 Jul 2015
Visit: France, Italy, Greece, Turkey & more!
United Travel Takapuna
*
Per person, twin share. Cruise departs 4 May 2015
Visit: Greece, Turkey, Italy, Croatia, France, Spain & more!
2 Northcroft St
(09) 486 1625
*Conditions: Pricing is pp share twin, inclusive of all discounts, taxes & government fees. Cruise is based on Interior Stateroom. Sales valid to 8 Dec 2014. Grand Med: based on flying Emirates from Auckland to Barcelona, returning from Venice in Economy Class. Non-refundable deposit of 20% due within 3 days (by midday) of booking. Final payment due by 5 Apr 2015. Magic of the Med: based on flying Emirates from Auckland to Venice, returning from Barcelona in Economy Class. Non-refundable deposit of US$850pp due within 6 days of booking. Final payment due by 12 Jan 2015. GENERAL: Prices are subject to availability & correct at time of printing. Travel agent service fees not included. Cancellation fees apply. Based on payment by cash or EFTPOS only. Further conditions apply, please ask for details. UT2194