The villa is just one of the types of houses on offer in New Zealand yet it seems to attract more than its fair share of fans. But the question must be asked: why is this so? Why does the villa, ubiquitous in old inner-city suburbs throughout the country, generate such approval?
Some would say this rampant admiration, this unquestioning reverence, is a little misplaced. There's no especially compelling reason for the villa to be held in far higher esteem than other Kiwi houses such as, say the bungalow, mid-century home or, indeed, contemporary dwelling.
A relic from the Victorian age, the villa - with its "front parlours", boxy rooms and chocolate-box prettiness - is highly unsuited to the demands of what the interior magazines call "our modern lifestyle". The villa is all too often cold and damp - with an original kitchen and bathroom that, as mere cramped token gestures at the structure's rear, are the antithesis of what contemporary home-owners are supposed to hanker after.
But such realities do little to dampen the unbridled enthusiasm with which some people regard the villa. As reported in Anger as old Hillary villa removed some Mt Eden locals are up in arms about the fact a "century-old villa ... will be removed ... so it can be replaced with townhouses". It's worth noting that these protesters clearly weren't prepared to put their money where their mouths are in order to save the villa in question themselves. It's only now that $2.6-million has been paid for the property concerned that these people feel inspired to attempt to thwart development plans.
Even the 2009 book Villa: From Heritage to Contemporary, which at heart was something of an extended love-letter to this style of architecture, didn't shy away from listing its shortcomings such as: "the cold, the disregard for orientation, the clumsy generality of their planning, and the gauche frippery of their decoration." Of course, this ornamentation - along with the much-admired gables, bay windows and wrap-around verandas - is what draws many people to this particular style of home.
