Design Review
Encyclopedia
Design Review was a publication of the Wellington Architectural Centre
. The Centre was founded in 1946, and began the first architectural school in Wellington
(1947) and the first town planning school in New Zealand
(1949). The Centre was unique at the time of its founding in that it invited members interested in a broad range of design and the arts, rather than restricting membership to professional architects and architectural students. Internationally it is one of the oldest organisations of its type.
"Like everything that has to do with the arts, design cannot be tested for its quality in a laboratory ... The elusive quality that a consensus of opinion agrees to call good design is not to be defined in terms like an axiom in geometry ... So we will leave the making of formulas and rules to those who like that sort of thing ... we shall publish in each number a discussion on some particular object; a house, a chair, a teapot or what have you. The contributor will tell you his or her opinion about the merits or demerits of the way that thing is designed, omitting any waving of the big stick to lay down laws of design. It is for you to decide if you think they are right."
, Helen Hitchings, E.H. McCormick, Odo Strewe, William Toomath
, Gordon F. Wilson, Anna Plischke, film maker John O'Shea
, writer Alan Mulgan, and photographers John Pascoe
and Irene Koppel. Editors of the journal included architects Ernst Plischke
, Maurice Patience, and Al Gabites, and well-known artists E. Mervyn Taylor, and Eric Lee-Johnson
. The final issue of Design Review was in 1954.
(a unit of the library at Victoria University of Wellington
) and can be viewed online.
Wellington Architectural Centre
The Architectural Centre Inc is a nonprofit organization in Wellington, New Zealand for architects and laypeople which offers lectures, site visits, tours and exhibitions.It is a co-organiser of Wellington Architecture Week.-History of the Centre:...
. The Centre was founded in 1946, and began the first architectural school in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
(1947) and the first town planning school in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(1949). The Centre was unique at the time of its founding in that it invited members interested in a broad range of design and the arts, rather than restricting membership to professional architects and architectural students. Internationally it is one of the oldest organisations of its type.
Philosophy and Scope
The Centre began the two-monthly publication of Design Review in 1948. The journal addressed design topics as broad as furniture, town planning, theatre and stage design, packaging, church design, book-binding, poster design, industrial design and of course architecture. It hence reflected the Centre's interest in architecture, design and the arts in the broadest sense and was the first journal of its kind in New Zealand. The editorial of April/May 1949 explicitly asked the question "What is Design Review?" answering this by stating that:"Like everything that has to do with the arts, design cannot be tested for its quality in a laboratory ... The elusive quality that a consensus of opinion agrees to call good design is not to be defined in terms like an axiom in geometry ... So we will leave the making of formulas and rules to those who like that sort of thing ... we shall publish in each number a discussion on some particular object; a house, a chair, a teapot or what have you. The contributor will tell you his or her opinion about the merits or demerits of the way that thing is designed, omitting any waving of the big stick to lay down laws of design. It is for you to decide if you think they are right."
Contributors
Contributors included Doreen BlumhardtDoreen Blumhardt
Dame Doreen Blumhardt, ONZ, DNZM, CBE was a New Zealand potter, ceramicist and arts educator.-Career:...
, Helen Hitchings, E.H. McCormick, Odo Strewe, William Toomath
William Toomath
Stanley William Toomath is a Wellington architect. He was a founding member of the Architectural Group in Auckland in 1946 and is a life member of the Wellington Architectural Centre and a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects...
, Gordon F. Wilson, Anna Plischke, film maker John O'Shea
John O'Shea
John O'Shea can refer to:*John O'Shea, Irish footballer with Sunderland*John O'Shea , New Zealand film director*John O'Shea *John O'Shea , Wales international rugby union footballer*John O'Shea...
, writer Alan Mulgan, and photographers John Pascoe
John Pascoe
John Henry Pascoe, AO, CVO is Chief Federal Magistrate of Australia and Deputy Chancellor of the University of New South Wales. Previous positions he has held have included Chairman and CEO of George Weston Foods, Chairman of Centrelink, Deputy Chairman of Aristocrat Leisure Limited and Managing...
and Irene Koppel. Editors of the journal included architects Ernst Plischke
Ernst Plischke
Ernst Anton Plischke was an Austrian-New Zealand modernist architect, town planner and furniture designer whose work is well known throughout Europe and New Zealand.-Early years:...
, Maurice Patience, and Al Gabites, and well-known artists E. Mervyn Taylor, and Eric Lee-Johnson
Eric Lee-Johnson
Eric Albert Lee-Johnson was a prominent New Zealand artist and photographer.Lee-Johnson was born in Suva, Fiji and moved to New Zealand in 1912 with his parents. As a child he showed an unusual gift for drawing and he entered Auckland’s Elam School of Art where he remained from 1923-1926...
. The final issue of Design Review was in 1954.
Digitisation
Recently the entire run of the magazine was digitised by the New Zealand Electronic Text CentreNew Zealand Electronic Text Centre
The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre is a unit of the library at the Victoria University of Wellington which provides a free online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials. The NZETC has an ongoing programme of digitisation and feature additions to the current...
(a unit of the library at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
) and can be viewed online.