The first New Zealander to be knighted for his contribution to architecture has died.
Sir Miles Warren in 2016. Photo: RNZ / Maja Burry
Sir Miles Warren was 93.
Sir Miles was the principal designer of such buildings as Christchurch Town Hall, Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre, the High Commission in Delhi and the New Zealand Chancery in Washington DC.
After working in London as a young man he set up his own practice in Christchurch in 1955, and three years later formed what became a highly successful partnership with Maurice Mahoney.
Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZ Institute of Architects paid tribute, writing that: "Sir Miles's career spanned decades and will leave a lasting impact on architecture in New Zealand for centuries to come".
"This is an enormous loss of a great architect for New Zealand and the profession. His generosity and support of the profession has been immeasurable," Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZ Institute of Architects President Judith Taylor said in a statement.
Frederick Miles Warren was born in Christchurch in 1929 and was educated at Christ's College and Auckland University. At the age of 16, he was taken on as an articled pupil by the eminent Christchurch architect Cecil Wood before studying at Auckland University.
Sir Miles graduated in 1951 and after working for another Christchurch architect, W H Trengrove, for a short period, he moved to London. There he became immersed in the so-called Brutalist architecture of post-war Europe, working on the vast public housing projects of the London County Council.
Mayor Lianne Dalziel, Sir Miles Warren, Sir Harold Marshall and Gus and Connor Jensen, great-grandsons of original architect Maurice Mahoney at the rededication of Christchurch Town Hall in 2019 after earthquake damage. Photo: CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL
On his return to Christchurch in 1955, he set up his own architectural practice and three years later formed the partnership with Maurice Mahoney that grew into a nationwide practice with a succession of wealthy institutional and private clients.
Sir Miles adapted the brutalism and modernism he had practised in London, but building with white concrete block and fair-faced concrete, rather than brick.
"Architects of the time would never have used - the word 'style' was a dirty word," Sir Miles told RNZ in a 2008 interview.
"The theory was that the form or shape of the building should emerge from what took place in it. In simple terms, form follows function and that how the building was built and with what materials should be demonstrated."
"In the limited, very constricted post-war period you could probably describe a sort of bread and butter approach, and we had a great delight building with exposed concrete and exposed concrete block.
"And it was that approach that I experienced in London and brought back to New Zealand."
His distinctive exposed concrete block townhouses spawned a school of followers although the partnership's early buildings did not always meet with approval.
Christchurch's Dorset Street flats became infamous, with tourist buses detouring to point out what was considered the ugliest building in the city.
"They all look quite conventional and standard now," Sir Miles said in 2008.
"It was the first use in a block of flats of concrete block painted inside, and all our friends thought we were so poor, of course we couldn't include any plaster."
It wasn't until they built the Town Hall in the late 1960s that Christchurch took Warren and Mahoney to its heart.
Christchurch Town Hall Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
"Underlying all our work has really been a demonstration of structure, form emerging from the structure of the building and how it was built," Sir Miles told RNZ.
Sir Miles was the principal designer of many of New Zealand's well-regarded and institutional buildings such as Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre, the High Commission in New Delhi, and the New Zealand Chancery in Washington DC.
The Warren and Mahoney partnership also undertook the massive and expensive job of replanning, refurbishing and strengthening Parliament House and its General Assembly Library.
The Michael Fowler Centre. Photo: Michal Klajban, CC by S-A 4.0
His work was acknowledged by the New Zealand Institute of Architects Award of Honour in 1987 and honorary doctorate from the University of Canterbury in 1992. In 2003 the Arts Foundation named him as one of its first icon artists.
Sir Miles was knighted in 1985 and became a Member of the Order of New Zealand 10 years later.
Sir Miles retired in 1994 to Banks Peninsula, working on his superb garden and enjoying his extensive collection of New Zealand art. He published his autobiography in 2008.
His funeral will be held at Christ's College Chapel, Christchurch, on 18 August at 2pm.
