"... about as austere as a Dior gown ...": New Zealand architecture in the 1960s

Abstract

Peter Middleton's 1964 description of Hoogerburg Scott's Futuna Chapel (1958-1960) as being "about as austere as a Dior gown and as comforting as a hair shirt ... [but] at least it's a meaningful statement" points to a sense of complexity and contradiction present in the architecture of the 1960s. The decade which began with Futuna's completion, ends shortly after its recognition with an NZIA Gold Medal Award in 1968. The significance of the building weaves through the full length of the decade.