Hazel Court is an important example of New Zealand Modern medium rise residential design. As an early example of private apartment construction, this building has rarity value, and can be seen as part of the beginning of a trend in residential design that continues to the present day.
This building is one of the first high rise apartment complexes constructed in New Zealand that was not specifically designed for state tenants. This kind of residential development arose during a time of discussion and debate around social and town planning issues connected with housing. The idea of apartments as a housing option had been around for some time. The first attempt to promote apartments came in 1938, when architect W. Robin Simpson published a pamphlet entitled Workers’ Housing – A Scheme for New Zealand. Then, in the mid to late 1940s, organisations such as the Architecture Centre in Wellington, and the Architectural Group (The Group) in Auckland were expressing concerns about urban sprawl at the periphery of the suburbs, and the decaying urban slums in the centres. High rise apartments were presented as a solution to these problems.
By the mid 1950s, 65% of New Zealand households were composed of three persons or less, and in the light of this apartments were identified as a possible preference for a significant number of people. The construction of Hazel Court was the creation of Herbert Buck, a builder of Wellington. His company, H.J. Buck Properties Limited, acquired land in Claremont Grove in Mount Victoria, and commissioned architectural firm Treadwell and Wild to design the apartment block for the site. Wild was a founding member of the group, and both worked on the ‘First House’ a dwelling constructed by The Group on Auckland’s North Shore in 1948.
Hazel Court was comprised of five storeys – the first three had five two-bedroom flats on each level, while the upper two levels contained ten maisonette flats. Each flat consisted of two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, laundry, and a spacious living area. The first three levels had small balconies, which overhung the private garden on the north face of the building. Twelve carport facilities were provided on the south side, which faced Claremont Grove. An electrical central heating system was installed throughout the building.
Buck properties retained ownership of the flats once they were completed, leasing them to individual tenants. The tenant make-up was varied and included students and professionals. The advertising materials for the apartments stressed the size of the second bedroom, stating that it was big enough for two or three single beds, but it is not known if many families occupied the flats.
Hazel Court was sold to Harvard Investments in 1972, and leasehold titles were then issued for each of the flats for a term of 999 years. Existing tenants were given the option of purchasing the leasehold on their flat. Aside from the conversion of the carports to garages in 1984, no significant alterations have been made to the building. It remains an authentic example of early high rise residential developments in New Zealand.
