Before 1939: Refugee Architects to New Zealand

Abstract

In 1939, a number of European architects found refuge in New Zealand from the National Socialist regime. Their subsequent practice led to the notion that their presence had a significant impact on New Zealand architectural culture – especially in transmitting ideas associated with modernist architecture. This paper investigates the European work of this heterogeneous group of architects, all of whom came as refugees to New Zealand. In outlining the biographies of these architects prior to their arrival in New Zealand, insights are gained into their diverse experiences, cultural backgrounds and multi-faceted set of skills. This adds to recent scholarship that discusses the ways in which architectural ideas associated with modernism entered New Zealand and analyses the topic from multiple viewpoints in which the transmission of ideas is understood as a multilateral discourse.