Famed architect in demand: Ron Sang's signature house sells for $5.5m, All things property, under OneRoof

The home of one of New Zealand’s greatest architects sold under the hammer today for $5.5 million.

The Auckland house built by the late Ron Sang was picked up at a double auction that also saw the architect's 200-strong art collection on the block.

Bidding on the five-bedroom home on Glenfell Place, in Epsom, kicked off with a bid of $4.8m then paused at $5m for nearly 50 minutes of negotiations, before coming back on the market for sale at $5.388m. Two more bids and the auction was all over in less than a minute, with a couple walking away with a trophy home.

The house, which has a 2021 CV of $5.7m, was marketed by Ray White agents George Erdos and Howard Sidnam. It has all the things that mattered to the architect, who designed some 400 buildings and became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2000.

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In nearly four hours of auction 247 pieces from Sang’s personal art collection also went under the hammer of Art+Object’s Ben Plumbly – for a whopping $2.45m, well higher than the auction house had estimated.

Just four items failed to find buyers in the marathon session, with some 150 buyers packing out the auction floor and another 500 bidders registered online. Records were set, with Plumbly saying the successful auction ensured the enduring legacy of Sang as one of the country's foremost collectors and tastemakers.

The Ron Sang house on Glenfell Place, in Epsom, Auckland, was sold under the hammer at an art and property auction today. Among the 200 artworks on the block was a bronze and yellow sculpture by Paul Dibble. Photo / Supplied

The Paul Dibble sculpture Huia Above fetched the top price at auction, when it sold for $314,317. Photo Supplied

Top sale price was the $314,317 achieved for a bronze sculpture by Guy Ngan, a close friend of Sang. It was a record high price for the artist and well exceeded the pre-auction estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

Early in the auction, another Ngan piece, the huge wall panel Sea Scape that features in the entrance to the house, went for $169 371 in a rapid-fire auction that had the room gasping – and applauding at the end. Again, it was way more than the $25 000 to $40 000 estimate.

Other highs included $255,885 for the Paul Dibble sculpture, Huia Above (estimated at $140 000 to $220 000) and $158,405 for the Don Binney painting, Fisherman’s Rock, Anawhata. A new record high was set for potter Len Castle, whose Crater Lake bowl realised $40,210, well over its $10,000 to $18,000 estimate.

As well as collecting art, Sang published books on his favourite artists, many of them his good friends. Sang’s reputation was made early by the Japanese-style house he designed in Titirangi for photographer Brian Brake in 1976, an iconic house which now has a category 1 listing with Heritage New Zealand.

Hi wife, Margaret, who first worked in the Fairhead Sang Carnachan office in 1975, told OneRoof last month that Sang designed the 429sqm, home on a 1010 sqm section – the last of six he’d built for his family – to suit the tree-filled site on a quiet street behind Government House.

She said it included his typical hallmarks – a giant red front door, a floor plan that divides the formal living from the family areas, with plenty of gallery walls and built-in niches to display their enormous collection.

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Margaret said that the house, once famously crammed with art, pottery and objects, was looking a lot emptier as she prepared it for sale and a move – a destination unknown at this stage.

In typical Sang style, the house is split into a half circular block, which houses the formal living room and a bedroom on the ground floor, more bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs, and is linked to the more conventional square block for kitchen, informal living, garage and office by a glass gallery bridge.

Clever window placement offers borrowed views of the pool and gardens, yet remain completely private from neighbours. The sculptural pool and spa area was designed by yet another friend, landscape architect Ted Smythe.

Margaret said the house included other Ron Sang favourite touches – a circular dining room and efficient U-shaped kitchen for the man who loved cooking and hosting friends, family and visiting artists.

“Ron’s clients became our friends,” said Margaret.

Architect Ron Sang, who died in 2021, was a keen collector of art. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A huge glossy front door was a Ron Sang signature. Photo / Supplied

The 2015 refurbishment updated kitchen appliances and doors, and included a re-clad and new double glazing. Her favourite spots are the sitting areas tucked around the lush garden, and the light that falls through the house.

“I like the light, the quiet peaceful street,” she said. “Gardening and listening to the birds, that’s what I’ll miss.”

Despite tailoring the house for his adored collections, Sang made it remarkably versatile for more conventional owners: the downstairs bedroom suite is private for guests, the office would function equally well as a self-contained granny, nanny or teen flat, the book room could convert back to a third garage slot.

Erdos said the masterfully-crafted house is a demonstration of all of Sang’s architectural talent.

“It’s a masterpiece, it brings together all the techniques he used on other properties. I’m proud and humbled that I was chosen as the agent,” he said.

In 2021, the first home Sang designed for his family in the 1970s in Hapua Street, Remuera, sold for $4m after an extensive refurbishment overseen by Darryl Sang. Other Sang houses in Remuera have sold for big numbers. A house on Arney Road restored by art collectors John and Rose Dunn sold for $8.1m in 2007, while another owned by yachting legend Chris Dickson sold for $3.445m in 2010.