To a job well done

The life and work of distinguished New Zealand architect, Marshall Cook— whose career spans over 40 years and across six countries — is paid homage in Issue 03 of design magazine Habitus. “Inspired by the buildings of his youth, and his work and travel around the Pacific Rim, Cook draws on two distinct architectural traditions to express a New Zealand identity,” writes Andrea Stevens. “He believes the dynamics between permanent and transient, solid and light, past and present, express aspects of the national psyche.” This notion of temporary occupation connects with Cook’s ideas about the environment and our place in it, and he has responded to these issues throughout his career by exploring the social and environmental aspects of housing. “I’ve always liked the idea that houses have an anchor — the permanent and ephemeral, the heavy and light working together,” says Cook. “I believe we are part of the environment, but we are not really permanent.”