The Elegant Shed

The Elegant Shed was a six-part documentary series looking at New Zealand architecture since 1945. The influential series redefined Kiwi’s relationship to their built environment, celebrating the homespun and DIY (bach and boatshed, tramping huts, suburbia, small town streets) as inspirations for a distinctly local architecture. Architect David Mitchell plays tour guide (replete with bohemian goatee and polyester suit), interviews key players (The Group, Ian Athfield) and surveys buildings from bespoke cribs to modernist towers. Mitchell and Gillian Chaplin wrote the accompanying book.