Claude Megson 'Schroff house' drawings

Claude Walter Megson was born in Whangarei in 1936 and attended Whangarei Boys’ High School. He studied architecture part-time at the University of Auckland, graduating with a Diploma in Architecture in 1963 and a Masters of Architecture in 1969. While studying he worked for prominent architectural practice Gummer and Ford. He established his own practice in 1962. From 1965 he lectured at the School of Architecture, part time and then full time, until just before his death in June 1994.

Megson was one of the few New Zealand architects to be mentioned in the International Who’s Who. Designing distinctive and experimental family houses was his forte, with many notable examples in Auckland’s central and eastern suburbs. Megson won 11 design awards during his lifetime, including the New Zealand Institute of Architects'(NZIA) Bronze Medal for the ‘Wong House’ in Remuera (1969) and, posthumously, NZIA Enduring Architecture awards for the ‘Norris House’ in Remuera (2005) and the Cocker Townhouses in Freeman’s Bay (2014). Megson’s design aesthetic was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn, and Aldo van Eyck. Interest in his work has continued long after his death, culminating in Giles Reid’s 2017 retrospective Claude Megson: Counter Constructions.

References:

Reid, G. & J. Meiring, (2016). Claude Megson: Counter Constructions. Giles Reid. Sheppard, F. (n.d.) Claude Megson [Clippings file] Sheppard Collection, (MSS. Archives. Arch. 2017/1. File M496s) Architecture Archive, Special Collections, University of Auckland.