HOME NZ June / July 2014

Page 124

Colonel Boo Boo, the Arnolds' dog, in the dining room with 'Series 7' chairs by Arne Jacobsen, a 'Superellipse' table by Piet Hein and Bruno Mathsson, a 'PH5' light by Poul Henningsen and a Saskia Leek artwork.

The uncompromising vision and fabrication of the house was what attracted the Arnolds, who spent two years negotiating with the second owner to buy it. interviewed him about it. “It’s the abstract window pattern of the gable which is the thing I always remember about this house, it sticks in one’s mind," Sir Miles said, "but it’s the interior that’s unusual because it is so pure. It doesn’t feel like there has been compromise.” The detail of the design was produced by Nicholas Kennedy, a young architect working with Warren and Mahoney in the 1960s. Kennedy worked on various Warren and Mahoney buildings including the Christchurch Town Hall, the College House Chapel, and the award-winning Dorset Towers before setting up his own practice. He died tragically young in the

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mid-1970s. Ian Munro told Arnold he remembered Kennedy as extremely thorough: “He made the builder redo the fireplace lintel three times. He rejected it twice because the impression of the timber form work wasn’t good enough.” Kennedy also produced stringent specifications for the builder, which read: “All workmanship and material shall be of the highest quality and of the best description. ‘Best’ shall be taken to mean that there is no better class of workmanship or higher quality of material available.” The uncompromising vision and fabrication of the house was what attracted the Arnolds, who spent two years negotiating with the second owner to buy


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