In the town of Kaikoura, New Zealand, a heritage building is located by the Kaikoura Peninsula, known as the Fyffe House. This area is well known for bringing in European settlers around the 1840s due to whaling, and it is the interest in whales that makes it still relevant for people today through the recreation of whale watching. It appears that the Fyffe House is the only physical evidence that reflects the time of European settlement in this region. Therefore, it should be explored how the building and its elements are able to represent the time it lived in, and also whether it made an impact to its local culture and surroundings by either adapting or altering the indigenous Oceania architecture.
The region of Kaikoura has a rich history …show more content…
This catapulted Kaikoura into becoming a well known port. As time passed, the area around the Fyffe House started growing, consisting of sheds surrounding the wharf and hotels being built. This made the Fyffe Cove region the main commercial and social spot for all of Kaikoura. However, the shift in location to where the town centre is currently found occurred as a newer wharf was inserted elsewhere. This allowed the Fyffe House to be fully open among the grass filled hills and sea-shore. Unlike most westernized buildings which are interested with the streetscape, the Fyffe House appears to have a relationship with the surrounding landscape and climate instead, which is more of an indigenous approach to architecture. The Fyffe House could have relocated with the rest of the town centre, but instead it was intent on embracing both the sea and land that surrounded it. Across the bay from the Fyffe House is the Seaward Kaikoura Range, where there are snow-capped mountains for a majority of the year. This causes for moments where the amount of insulation in the house is not enough due to cold weather. However, as the house is situated on an uneven topography, this allows the large hills to shelter it from the cold southerly
The region of Kaikoura has a rich history …show more content…
This catapulted Kaikoura into becoming a well known port. As time passed, the area around the Fyffe House started growing, consisting of sheds surrounding the wharf and hotels being built. This made the Fyffe Cove region the main commercial and social spot for all of Kaikoura. However, the shift in location to where the town centre is currently found occurred as a newer wharf was inserted elsewhere. This allowed the Fyffe House to be fully open among the grass filled hills and sea-shore. Unlike most westernized buildings which are interested with the streetscape, the Fyffe House appears to have a relationship with the surrounding landscape and climate instead, which is more of an indigenous approach to architecture. The Fyffe House could have relocated with the rest of the town centre, but instead it was intent on embracing both the sea and land that surrounded it. Across the bay from the Fyffe House is the Seaward Kaikoura Range, where there are snow-capped mountains for a majority of the year. This causes for moments where the amount of insulation in the house is not enough due to cold weather. However, as the house is situated on an uneven topography, this allows the large hills to shelter it from the cold southerly