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Lillian Chrystall

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Lillian Chrystall
OBE
Born
Lillian Jessie Laidlaw

(1926-03-01)1 March 1926
Auckland, New Zealand
Died24 February 2022(2022-02-24) (aged 95)
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
OccupationArchitect
PracticeChrystall Architects
RelativesRobert Laidlaw (father)

Lillian Jessie Chrystall OBE (née Laidlaw; 1 March 1926 – 24 February 2022) was a New Zealand architect.[1] She was the first woman to receive a national New Zealand Institute of Architects award.[2]

Biography

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Chrystall was born in the Auckland suburb of Herne Bay on 1 March 1926, one of three children of businessman Robert Laidlaw and American-born Lillian Viola Irene Laidlaw (née Watson).[2][3][4] One of her brothers was Lincoln Laidlaw, who founded the New Zealand toy manufacturing company, Lincoln Industries.[1][5] She was raised in Herne Bay, and was educated at Bayfield School and Auckland Girls' Grammar School.[1] Chrystall studied architecture at the University of Auckland, one of only five women among the 1944 cohort of architectural students. She graduated in 1948, becoming a registered member of NZIA in the same year.[6] After graduating, she was appointed the School of Architecture's first female instructor.[1]

From 1950 to 1954, Chrystall worked in Europe. In England, she was hired by Ernő Goldfinger and worked on post-war reconstruction before moving to France. She joined André Sive's practice, designing low-cost housing Aubervilliers.[7] Chrystall then returned to New Zealand and started her own architecture practice, Lillian Laidlaw Architects. In the late 1950s, her husband joined the practice and the business was renamed Chrystall Architects.[1][2] Despite working in the practice together, the married couple kept projects separate. David worked on schools and community projects while Lillian worked on commercial buildings and, following the success of Yock House (1964), residential projects.[8]

Chrystall Architects set up their practice on Airedale St in Auckland, where the couple also lived and raised their children. The Airedale St office became a gathering space for various architects, and artists between the 1950s-60s including Peter Bartlett, Bill Wilson, and Ivan Juriss.[7][9]

Chrystall also served on community organisations and was a founding member of the Auckland Zonta Club.[10] She was the first woman on the board of trustees at the Auckland Savings Bank (ASB) and in 1983 became the first female president of the ASB Board.[2][10][11]

Chrystall retired in 2011.[6] She died on 24 February 2022 at the age of 95.[12]

Notable Projects

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Yock House (1964)

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Yock House in Ngāpuhi Road, Remuera was designed by Chrystall for Anthony Yock, in 1964.[13] The site is steep, sloping down towards Orakei Basin and a series of stepped decks were designed to integrate the house into the landscape. The house features built-in timber furniture in the bedrooms and living area, as well as dark stained rafters and sliding doors reminiscent of Shoji screens.[14]

Chrystall won a Bronze Medal from Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZIA in 1967 for the Yock House and became the first woman to receive a national NZIA award.[15] In 2013, Yock House was awarded the Enduring Architecture Award at the NZIA Auckland Architecture Awards.[16]

Other Projects

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  • Lincoln Laidlaw House, Orakei, Auckland (1950s) [17]
  • Laidlaw House, Taupo (1950s) - reviewed in House and Building March 1954 [18]
  • Fraser House, Hillsborough (1960s)[19]
  • ASB Bank, Pukekohe, Auckland (1960s) [18]
  • Chrystall House, Hapua St, Remuera, Auckland (1969) [18]
  • Kauri Loop Road House, Oratia (1974)[20]
  • (Philip) Yock House, Mission Bay, Auckland - Awarded NZIA Branch Award in 1979[21]

Recognition

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In the 1989 New Year Honours, Chrystall was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for public services.[2][10][22]

Chrystall was also awarded an NZIA Auckland Branch Merit Award in 1957 and admitted as a fellow of the NZIA in 1974.[8]

Architecture + Women New Zealand named one of their annual excellence awards, the Chrystall Excellence Award, in her honour.[23]

Personal life

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Chrystall married David Chrystall, who was also an architect,[1] and they had three children.[10] The couple separated in 1980.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Mid-century gem by pioneering female architect Lillian Chrystall up for sale". Stuff. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "A+W NZ Interview with Lillian Chrystall | Architecture + Women NZ". www.architecturewomen.org.nz. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Births". Auckland Star. Vol. 57, no. 51. 2 March 1926. p. 1. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  4. ^ International Press Who's Who N.Z. Wellington: National Magazines. 1938. pp. 280–281.
  5. ^ Traue, J. E., ed. (1978). Who's Who in New Zealand (11th ed.). Wellington: Reed. p. 165. ISBN 0-589-01113-8.
  6. ^ a b A+W NZ Dulux Awards 2023. Architecture + Women NZ. 2023. pp. 54=55. ISBN 978-0-473-68721-2. Wikidata Q125962193.
  7. ^ a b "Obituary: Lillian Chrystall (1926–2022)". Architecture Now. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b Cox, Elizabeth, ed. (2022). "18: 'Vigour and Zest': Lillian Chrystall". Making space: a history of New Zealand women in architecture. Auckland: Massey University Press. ISBN 978-1-991016-34-8.
  9. ^ "CHRYSTALL, Lillian | Lost Property". www.lostproperty.org.nz. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d "Prominent Member History: Lillian Chrystal". Zonta International District 16. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  11. ^ "ASB Bank | Business History | Timeline". www.businesshistory.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Lillian Chrystall obituary". The New Zealand Herald. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  13. ^ Architects (www.nzia.co.nz), NZ Institute of. "Remembering New Zealand architect Lillian Chrystall 1926–2022". NZ Institute of Architects (www.nzia.co.nz). Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  14. ^ Architects (www.nzia.co.nz), NZ Institute of. "Yock House". NZ Institute of Architects (www.nzia.co.nz). Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  15. ^ "A+W NZ Interview with Lillian Chrystall | Architecture + Women NZ". www.architecturewomen.org.nz. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  16. ^ "NZIA Auckland Region awards announced". Architecture Now. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Exterior view of Lincoln Laidlaw house at Ngapipi Road, Orakei, Auckland". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  18. ^ a b c "Lillian Chrystall (Architects of Remuera) - A very inspiring and influential architect". Remuera Heritage. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  19. ^ "Vale: Lillian Chrystall". Architecture Now. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Lillian Chrystall 1926 – 2022 - AWNZ [staging]". AWNZ. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Obituary: Lillian Chrystall (1926–2022)". Architecture Now. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  22. ^ "No. 51580". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 31 December 1988. p. 34.
  23. ^ "Chrystall Excellence Award | Architecture + Women NZ". architecturewomen.org.nz. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Obituary: Lillian Chrystall (1926–2022)". Architecture Now. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
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