A 1960s architectural gem house has had more buyers flocking to its first open home than most other properties would see the whole time they are on the market.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 19 Ashby Avenue, in St Heliers, Auckland, was designed by renowned modernist architect Franz Iseke in 1962, and, according to the listing agent, has attracted a “ridiculous” amount of interest.
The property is being sold by architect and Iseke fan Dr Amanda de Kretser, who she spent much of the Covid-19 lockdown restoring the house to its former glory.
De Kretser, who lectures on modernist architecture, was living next door when the Iseke house came up for sale six years ago. She told OneRoof she wanted to save it from being bowled by a developer.
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“They are one-off houses. You either love them or you don’t. But once you’ve seen it, you are not going to get another one," she said.
“I know that sounds a bit ridiculous given there are two 1960s houses of this quality in the same location, but they are not repeatable. You can’t really just say I will find one next week – if you need to have it, you need to have it really.”
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De Kretser and her husband built two townhouses, also inspired by the 1960s design, in front of the original property and then set about sympathetically renovating the home.
It’s the second 1960s modernist home they have restored on the shared driveway. They owned a home designed by architect Rollie Adams about 10 years ago and sold it after building their own 1960s-inspired home in front of it.
All five homes on the shared Ashby Ave driveway have a consistent modernist feel to them regardless of whether they are the originals or de Kretser’s own designs.
The house was designed by renowned modernist architect Franz Iseke in 1962. Photo / Supplied
The modernist style tends to have large windows that capture the light. Photo / Supplied
The latest project has been a labour of love with the project being carried out over the Covid-19 lockdowns and is now finally completed.
De Kretser said she loves the style and simple layout of the homes that are well-planned to capture the north sun and light with their large floor-to-ceiling windows.
“They are interesting houses, they are extremely well-designed. Because I know a little bit about them, most of the renovations we’ve done of them have sort of been in keeping and trying to draw out their characteristics rather than make them into something else.”
In following the modernist design principles, the homes have splashes of colour to help draw people into the space.
The green-tiled splashback was carefully chosen to draw the eye to the area. Photo / Supplied
The white tiling in the bathroom reflects the brightness of the house’s exterior. Photo / Supplied
The Ashby Ave home is no exception with its orange front door, green kitchen splashback to help draw the eye from one space to the other and orange tiling behind the fireplace. The strategically placed strip of green carpet in the hallway also makes a statement.
“They are just different to anything else you see. You tend to see in the real estate market – anything for marketing purposes – seems to be to sell it easily it’s white and grey, it’s lacking in colour,” de Kretser said.
“What you find at this time is the artists were influencing the architects.”
Ray White Parnell agent Andrew Fava, who sold the de Kretsers' last 1960s home on Ashby Ave, the two new townhouses and is marketing the latest one, said people can’t get enough of the style which always attracts a “ridiculous” amount of interest.
“Every time I’ve marketed a home for these particular architects who had an affinity towards the 1960s architecture they’ve gone crazy.”
The house was given a sympathetic makeover by modernist fan Dr Amanda de Kretser. Photo / Supplied
The distinctive and inviting orange door can be seen in this listing photo. Photo / Supplied
The first open home for 19 Ashby Ave, which has an RV of $2 million, was held at the weekend and attracted 32 groups through. “That’s basically a whole campaign in one weekend,” he said.
“The response to the marketing has just been incredible. The turnout at the open homes, the telephone enquiry, email enquiry has just been consistent and far and above what I’m receiving on any other property and any other price range.”
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