The process of constructing each model begins with a visit to the building if it's accessible and still standing. Photographs are taken to record the details of every aspect and from a range of viewpoints and from these, drawings are made to establish the scale of the model and to closely examine the architectural details.
Using the drawings as a basis for making, the walls are constructed from card, balsa, plastic, styrene and other materials. Windows and doors are made and glued into place; the walls are painted and then the main body of the building is fixed together on a base. The roof structure is put in place and covered to simulate the cladding of the actual building.
In every project, care is taken to ensure that details such as downpipes, verandahs, guttering, colours and surfaces are replicated as accurately as possible to provide you with a building just as you know it!
Your Scaled Down house will be rigidly glued, built to the best specifications and compliant with all building code regulations (well, some of them).
This 54 roomed house was built by the England Brothers for Alan McLean, a wealthy landowner who sold his farm in South Canterbury and settled in Christchurch. A single man, McLean commissioned this large building for himself and his house keeper. Over the years it has been a private house, a home for women in need, a dental school, and an educational facility,
Badly damaged in the 2011 earthuakes, it was 'red stickered' and scheduled for demolition. Now saved and being restored, McLean's Mansion will once again be a very significat architectural landmark.
This is the second Scaled Down model of the house: the first made for the then owner soon after the earthquakes was the complete building. This model includes the facade and the main body as far as the two extending wings.
Part of a Victorian terrace, this attractive house is unlike its neighbours in that it stands alone, with groups of houses connected houses either side. In all likelihood it was built for the developer of the terrace and the facade of number 18 is more elaborate in its details and more elegantly finished than the others in the row.
In this model, the facade will be the feature with sides and roof taken halfway back into the house and without the rear of the house being made.
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Built in 2005 this house provides superb and unobstructed views over the rolling farmlands of Northern Southland. The building itself has Classical influences with its impressive pediments front and rear, supported by large square section columns.
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Following one or two unforeseen problems with the original design for this block of apartments, the second iteration of The West Kilmore Building is under way. A more compact building, it references much of the previous design and complements the adjacent block on the site.
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Altrive, built in 1897 for William Donald, is an imposing residence in Waipounamu in rural Southland and a significant example of a late Victorian villa.
The aesthetic of the exterior is a mix of styles - the design is eclectic and eye-catching. The architectural value of Altrive lies in the richness of a mostly unaltered interior and exterior of this late Victorian villa. Designed by Invercargill architectural partnership Mackenzie and Gilbertson, the villa is a good example of their residential work.
Whilst now requiring extensive restoration and repair, Altrive is still lived in and it remains a noteworthy building with a fascinating history and a strong family attachment.
These apartments planned for construction in early 2017 are part of a group of three buildings which will form a dynamic and varied trio of inner city apartments, each offering high specifications. Designed by Stufkens and Chambers,they represent a point of difference with the other two blocks on the site and part of an exciting new phase of the Christchurch rebuild.
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'The World Capital Germania', refers to the projected renewal of Germany's capital Berlin by the Nazis - part of Hitler's vision for the future of Germny after the planned victory in Worl War II. Albert Speer, 'the first architect of The Third Reich' produced a number of plans from which a model was constructed. Only a small portion of the project was built between the years 1937 and 1943 when construction was under way.
The Olympic Stadium for the 1936 Summer Olympics was to be the first step in the construction of Germania, followed by The Arch of Triumph, The Avenue of Splendours and the large domed structure. 'The People's Hall' designed by Hitler himself which would have been the largest structure of its type in the world.
This model is being made for quite a different purpose - but more of that later...
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Designed by Wilson and Hill for developer Grant McKinnon, the eleven storey West Kilmore apartment building and the adjacent Rakaia Building are two of the three new inner city apartment blocks in a large development taking place close to Cranmer Square.
Built from Kauri in 1899 for a 78 year old bachelor, McLean’s Mansion as it is now called was designed by the England brothers in the Jacobean style. Once the largest wooden building in New Zealand, this huge residence comprises 53 rooms including 19 bedrooms, nine bathrooms and six servant rooms. The interior fittings featured beautifully coffered ceilings, elaborate plaster mouldings, finely crafted balustrades and richly decorated newel posts on the stairs.
Sadly, the building suffered extensive damage during the 2011 earthquakes and despite exhaustive efforts by its owners to safeguard the future of this Category 1 Heritage building,it is by no means secure.
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Like many New Zealand suburban homes, this weatherboard house with its distinctive dormer windows over the garage has been extended to accommodate a growing family and the changing lifestyle of its owners. More extensions are planned to enable a greater amount of space to be available at the rear of the house.
This house is also home to an artist whose studio is located at the rear. In this model, the roof of the studio will lift off to reveal his work in progress inside.
With earthquake damaged buildings demolished and sites cleared, Christchurch city has entered the rebuilding phase. Like many of the new buildings seen in the central city this complex of two large office blocks connected by an air-bridge, an initiative of property developers The Peebles Group, combines a steel grid construction with curtain glass.
Sustainable design features include large areas of glazing with sunshades designed to maximise solar energy efficiency.The design uses low damage structural engineering design principles which increase the likelihood that the building can be repaired after a large earthquake.
The overriding aim has been to create an attractive and enjoyable complex where people can work and relax.
This grand 30-room timber house was built in 1861 by Charles Wyatt, a member of the Provincial Council. Since then, the property has been home to Maurice Harris, a merchant, and later F H Pyne, who established Pyne & Co, which became Pyne Gould Guinness (Pyne installed the imposing staircase in the entrance foyer, constructed in Scotland from New Zealand kauri, believed to have been taken to Britain as ship ballast).
The building has been added to over the years to cope with its changing needs and gradual expansion. The most recent of these additions is the owners' accommodation block and garage which is situated at the rear of the property.
The most complex and demanding model to date, Eliza's has been an enjoyable challenge!
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Awhitu House, built in 1878 at Taumutu, situated near the shores of Lake Ellesmere at the southern end of Kaitorete Spit, was the family home of Huriwhenua and Tini Taiaroa. As the MP for Southern Maori, Huriwhenua Taiaroa was an influential figure in both Maori and Pakeha worlds and this house became the scene of many important gatherings and the residence of successive paramount chiefs of Ngai Tahu.
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Designed by Christchurch architect Robert Munroe in the early fifties, the Memorial Chapel at St Andrew's College demonstrates a number of the characteristics of the English Medieval and Gothic style. With its traditional cruciform layout, butressed tower, steep gables and stained glass windows this red-brick building standing by the river and set apart from the busy life of the school, was a place of worship, reflection and celebration.
Harmed beyond repair by the recent earthquakes, it is soon to be demolished and replaced by a chapel of a more contemporary design which will embody the values, history and traditions of the college.
A relatively recent house designed by the late Peter Beavan, 392 Oxford Terrace was in part, a contemporary interpration of the Victorian cottage which played such a significant part in our architectural heritage.
This was also a particularly striking example of Beavan's work combining simple, functional living spaces with an unexpected change of angle at the rear to make best use of sun and section. Practicality and refinement appear to have been successfully merged in this beautiful family home.
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One of the more iconic and architecturally significant church buildings in Christchurch before the earthquakes of 2010, Oxford Terrace Baptist Church, which dated back to 1881 was designed by local architect Edward J Saunders in the then popular Classical Revival style which had its origins in the architecture of ancient Greece.
Sited prominantly at the corner of Oxford Terrace and Madras Street overlooking the river Avon, it was seriously damaged in the September earthquake and then broken beyond repair in the following February. Sadly, all that was left as a reminder of the impressive Classical facade were its smashed cornice and the remnants of its columns and their Ionic capitals
Special thanks to Sam Leary for his generosity and expertise in turning the wooden columns and to Alec from Acorn Models for sourcing some of the appropriate components for the classical facade.
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Built in 1905, this elegant brick villa with its twin gables and return veranda has a host of elaborate features which mark it as a classic of the period: decorative tiling, stained glass, ceiling roses, ornate veranda brackets, cast fire surrounds and beautifully detailed exterior mouldings running beneath the guttering the length of the walls.
The house is now finished and ready to be boxed. Special thanks go to Ross Manson of Frame Engraving, without whose laser cutting expertise the lacework on the veranda would never have been so finely and accurately detailed!
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The Lyttelton Police Station building of 1880 was the oldest surviving station in New Zealand until the significant earthquake damage it sustained in 2010 brought an end to the working life of this fine Italianate Lyttelton building. It comprises a symmetrical main block made from brick overlaid with a layer of plaster; and a brick jail with outbuildings at the rear.
This project began with initial drawings made to establish the scale and then the main body of the building was completed. Sited on a hill like most buildings in Lyttelton, the police station was fixed to a sloping base along with the jail and outbuildings at the rear.
The fire escape with its return staircase was attached to the side of the building, the chimney pots fixed in place, the jail added and the charming Victorian lamp with its blue light is attached over the door to complete the project.
And just in case you can't read the poster on the front wall...