One of the stars of Grand Designs NZ has sold his impressive art gallery home and is heading back to his native Scotland.
Scott Lawrie announced on Instagram that his gallery in Auckland's Mount Eden was regrettably closing next month.
“As some of you know, I’m returning to Scotland in a few weeks' time for family reasons, and I’m sad to say that the Mount Eden gallery will necessarily close on June 10th," Lawrie posted.
“Thank you so much for your support and faith in the gallery – especially the artists. I loved pushing boundaries with it, and I know we achieved something pretty special. We hosted over 150 shows in almost 6 years. Supported 127 artists. Made over 80 films. Commissioned 34 essays. Met some fascinating human beings. We broke norms.”
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The gallery, which doubled as Lawrie's home, was put on the market for sale by way of deadline treaty last month with Barfoot & Thompson agent Reese Barragar. It was declared as sold on Friday after the property was relisted with an asking price of $1.539 million.
Lawrie told Stuff.co.nz that he was returning to Scotland because of ill health in his family. “I was just getting back on my feet [with the business] after Covid. New Zealand is tough at the moment.”
Scott Lawrie recently announced his plans to return to Scotland and close the gallery. Photo / Supplied
The gallery also doubled as a home. Photo / Supplied
Lawrie opened his Mount Eden gallery a year ago, turning the former steelworks on Coles Avenue into an amazing space for artists. The property, which also doubled as a home, was renovated by architect Paul Clarke, who also created Lawrie's Grand Designs home in the hills behind Pakiri, north of Auckland.
The house, called The Crossing but more popularly known as the “Stealth Bomber”, was a standout structure of the 2015 series of the show.
The design of the house was such that it had no two angles were the same, and it was done to mitigate the wind.
Lawrie sold the property in 2019 for $1.6m.
Lawrie's steel home in Pakiri was the star of the 2015 season of Grand Designs NZ. Photo / Supplied
Lawrie told the New Zealand Herald in 2018 that he had been raised in a mining village south of Edinburgh, one of five kids in a state house. Sharing a bedroom with two big brothers had a profound effect on his idea of space and privacy, he said.
The house, which was made of steel to reflect the farming buildings of the area, was a dream come true for Lawrie and that living in the location was as if he had “died and gone to heaven”.
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