TOBIN SMITH
Tobin Smith is a Christchurch architect who designs contemporary homes while living in one that’s 100 years old. Smith lives in St Albans with his wife, Hayley Smith, also an architect, and children Oliver, 6, George, 5 and Max, 2.
TOBIN: The last house we built was only a two-bedder. When we fell pregnant with George, we sold that and hit the market.
The market was uninspiring at that time, but this one had all the hard work done, including structural upgrades post-earthquake. The interior could do with reworking, and we got stuck into it straight away: Full interior makeover from door handles to flooring to joinery. We converted to gas for both the fire and water heating. New kitchen, window coverings...
Storage is king, so we pulled out old wardrobes and put in contemporary ones. Ironically the previous house we had was 80m². This house over doubled that in area and has a double garage and sleepout, but we didn’t have room for everything because the storage was so poor. We’ve been quite hands-on. For example, we have a timber herringbone floor. I laid it, sanded it, oiled it myself.
We were both on the paint brush. The fit-out of the playroom (attached to the garage) was my Covid lockdown job.
That’s basically a kids’ noise room: It’s plylined and has a padded floor with bright red carpet tiles. If they damage the floor we can easily replace them. I used foam matting underneath the carpet.
I’ve got three boys, they love to wrestle, so it’s good; they’re not going to hurt themselves on the hard floor. When you enter this house, the stairwell forms the entry. That works really well for us. We design a lot of houses to be open plan. There’s always a huge immediate appeal and request to have living, kitchen and dining open plan.
But here, the subtle separation works nicely.
Before I became an architect, at age 19 or 20 I was on the tools – I did my building apprenticeship.
The construction company I worked with (during my apprenticeship) was huge and had their own drafting office. When I showed an interest in that side of it, they let me work there.
At Common, we do a range of projects from large multi-million dollar houses to small affordable houses. We do a mix, a broad range.
We’re known for our residential work, larger bespoke single houses, and multi-residential also, from duplex to ... I’ve personally delivered a 97-house development.
I think the most exciting project is the next one. We never rest on our previous successes. At Open Christchurch, I’ll be there to talk to people about what we’ve done, and what the original architect did, at Lucking House in St Martins. (Architect) George Lucking designed it in 1951 for himself and his family. It’s undergone a few additions in the mid to late 60s, and we’ve done a third addition to the house (construction finished last year).
It was originally designed as a rectangle with post war scale restrictions. In 1967 it had a primary bedroom suite added. Then in 1969, it had a garage and entry added. So when our clients purchased it, we added a living room addition. It needed a top-up of the living space.
Hayley was an architect herself. That’s how we met.
She’s been a stay-at-home mother since Oliver was born but has since got into making gift balloons for people. She keeps her hand in on the creative side of things. She’s got a good eye and a strong opinion, so of course I run things past her too. I’m Christchurch-born and bred, Hayley moved from Auckland when she was very young. As I said, there’s no more exciting project than the next one. There are still things to finish (in this house), it’s still a work in progress. But then, I think we’ve got one more move in us before the kids hit high school, one for the long haul. I’d love to get into an old mid-century house if we can – and our furniture would suit that – but it will just be the opportunity that presents itself.
visit Tobin Smith features as an expert in the annual festival of architectural excellence, Open Christchurch, which takes place this weekend.