More Mrkusich: this time, the master's marvellous house

Yesterday we blogged about Milan Mrkusich's great paintings (10 works from his collection are currently being auctioned by Ocula Black) but we didn't want to leave out the fact that the artist was also a great designer, as these photos of his own Auckland home show. 

Mrkusich started his career as a graphic designer, and later worked on architectural projects in his role at Auckland's Brenner Associates. He designed his own home (where he still lives today) in the early 1950s. 

Our thanks to Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tamaki Paenga Hira for allowing us to reproduce these images of the home from their archives. The shots were taken by a photographer from Sparrow Industrial Pictures soon after the home was completed. 

This shot (below) shows the home's north-facing elevation and the way its striking wedge shape follows the contour of the site. 

Here's the southern elevation, with a timber wall sheltering the home from cooler southerly winds, while a clerestory window lets in light.

The home's interior (below) is lovely, with an open-plan, split level living space holding the kitchen, dining, living and studio areas. Some time after this photo was taken, Mrkusich added a larger studio to the southern wing of the home, enabling his wife Florence to use this space on the lowest level of the living area.

 

Another view of the living room (below) shows the southern clerestory window and the chairs from Brenner Associates. A work by Mrkusich is on the pillar in the foreground. Please excuse the blemishes on the photo, which are a result of damage to the transparencies before they entered the care of Auckland Museum.

 

 This view (below) looks from the living room back to the dining area, taking in the beautiful fireplace with its stone surround and the marvellously cantilevered steps.

And finally, this view (below) of the compact dining area also shows the kitchen at right and the home's main entrance.