Mirror Mirror A glazed box by José Bribiesca in suburban Auckland is as mysterious, intriguing and humble as the architect himself.
New Zealand is not short of sleek houses, but only a handful are radical experiments in living.
Rewi Thompson’s house (1985) in Kohimaramara, Auckland, was one. A second is the mirror-glass house (1986) in Remuera, designed for Lois Ashton by her husband, the late José Bribiesca. Thompson’s house became iconic; the Ashton-Bribiesca house has been forgotten. Otherwise, they share much in common.
Minimal and mysterious, the Ashton-Bribiesca house is shorn of associations of ‘house’. It is a mirror-glazed box surrounded by suburbia, which it reflects and fragments. Its colour changes with the light; from sky blue to dusky pink and dark silver. Viewed from the outside, its interior is unknown. From inside, everything outside is in constant view.
