Vernon Brown

Often credited with inventing a vernacular style of building based on the bach, he took a firm stand against buildings that spoke with foreign accents, advocating preservation of the familiar kiwi twang.

Wood was the way to go, he reckoned; flexible and cheap to build with, and easy to treat with natural preservatives to withstand the wet and warm climate of Auckland. His characteristic "Brown box" approach to domestic architecture was rectangular in shape with a mono-pitched roof and weatherboards stained black with Stockholm tar. This inaugurated the distinctive black-and-white colour scheme which would become Vernon Brown's hallmark and earn his buildings the description of looking like coconuts with a bite taken out. Throughout the 35 years of his life in architecture, a glamorous exterior remained less important to Vernon Brown than a design that could re-create the fun and informality of a summer holidays on Waiheke. His houses epitomised the egalitarian ethos of New Zealand as a classless society, and as an architect he became the preferred option for Auckland's cultural elite. - Blurb from Gus Fisher Gallery exhibition 2007

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