The 2001 Gold Medal is awarded to The Group, recognising the enormous influence of their work on the development of New Zealand architecture.
The Group's architectural philosophy, which remained clear and consistent, was first articulated in their 1946 Manifesto entitled “On the Necessity for Architecture”. It was further developed in the single issue of their magazine, Planning 1, published that same year. Their underpinning philosophy was put into practice with the establishment in 1949 of Group Construction Company, which designed and built three seminal North Shore houses and later, with the formation of Group Architects, in 1951.
Throughout, their buildings and pronouncements advanced their philosophical position that the aim of architecture is the satisfaction of human needs and aspirations; that architecture is not only an art and a science - it is basically the means to achieve a civilised and cultured society.
The 1946 constitution of the Architectural Group was signed by Bill Wilson (chairman), Marilyn Hart (treasurer), Bruce Rotherham, Bill Toomath and Allan Wild. Barbara Parker's name was added later by Bill Toomath.
Others Were soon involved in Group activities, like lan Reynolds and Anthony Treadwell who both contributed to Planning 1.
1949 saw the formation of Group Construction Company, comprising Bill Wilson, James Hackshaw, Ivan Juriss, Bruce Rotherham, Allan Wild, Campbell Craig and Bret Penman.
With funding provided by Bret Penman’s father, Group Construction Company first built two houses In Northboro Rd, Takapuna. These provided the opportunity for The Group to test and prove their thinking about the desirable qualities of a good, everyday house for a ‘typical New Zealand family’. An open plan encouraged an informal and unpretentious lifestyle, in strong contrast to the arrangements of rooms connected by a hallway or passage so common at the time.
Post-and-beam construction sought to achieve economy, efficiency and elegance. It also referred back to one of their fundamental principles, earlier expressed in their manifesto, that true economies in building could only be achieved by utilising the standard building components now available with machine production.
Bruce Rotherham's own studio-house in Devonport followed. It confirmed the innovative approach of the first two houses, but was more open with its floating saucer-edged mezzanine floor and its south wall glasshouse-glazed to allow natural light to Rotherham’s studio.
Apart from the square, rough-brick stair tower with wine cellar below and space for organ pipes above, there were no other internal walls. All of this richness lay within the simplest of gabled sheds. Today, this house is still an extremely powerful architectural experience. Collectively, these three North Shore houses were unpretentious but serious buildings, intent on achieving the best result - elegantly and with the greatest economy of means.
In 1951, Wilson, Juriss, Rotherham, Hackshaw, Wild, Pemman and Craig formed Group Architects and produced a variety of houses. The best-remembered are a Ivan Juriss' own 1954 house at Stanley Point, Devonport; the 1951 Bill Wilson house for the Catleys in Quebec Road, Milford; the 1954 home for the Mallittes in Muratai Road, Milford; and the Hackshaw-designed Thom House at Morningside in 1954.
Over time, one after another, group members left to pursue other opportunities. The last to leave was James Hackshaw. The two remaining were Bill Wilson and Ivan Juriss. Two hardly constitutes a group, so they practised as Wilson & Juriss until Wilson's untimely death in 1968.
The Group's buildings, and their approach to building, clearly expressed a philosophical and social vision - in particular the need to articulate an emerging sense of a New Zealand identity.
The enduring quality and influence of their work owe much to the honesty, integrity and enthusiasm with which it was infused. The Group showed that these qualities are central to producing vital architecture which is capable of both reflecting and shaping a society and its culture.
