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Doing the household washing at the turn of last century was by hand and a full day’s work and therefore only done once a week – usually Monday. Typically, dirty items were scrubbed on a wooden washboard then boiled with soap in the copper, which was lit  in early morning. The items were then removed with a wooden stick, rinsed with cold water and wrung out. The washing was dried outside or on an airing rack over the kitchen range. Bluing (the addition of a substance containing blue dye to make whites whiter) and starching (stiffening collars and petticoats) were additional steps.

A transition occurred in the 1950’s when electricity was expected to save domestic time and allow more to be dedicated to the family. But electric wringers could be traps for the unwary and inattentive. In 1941, 16-year-old Ina Taafe was strangled when a scarf she was wearing accidentally made its way into the washing machine’s wringer. More fortunate people got away with a squashed hand. The hazards of washing were nothing new – burns from fire and boiling water in coppers were common. Ipad-Iphone-Iwring-Icopper.

The ‘working woman’s’ cottage in the early part of last century was eminently elegant and sensual due to its simplicity and fertility.

Once we accept that the ‘working man’s’ cottage never existed in this country, we can promote the idea that any addition to the ‘working woman’s’ cottage typology can be devoid of gender and considered androgynous.

This enables all manner of Architectural re-representation (with clean clothes). This family home in Onehunga has a modest yet generous addition that sits on the lawn like an obedient Irish Setter with a council approved electronic chip.

It is the collective domestic skills and protocols of the working woman that influenced the models and drawings of this family home.

Bull O'Sullivan Architecture
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Johnston Family Home

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Professional

The BOS Practice is driven by the pursuit of quality - a belief that our surroundings directly influence the quality of our lives, whether in the workplace, at home or the public spaces and structures in between. It is not just buildings but urban design that affects our wellbeing. We are concerned with the physical context of a project, sensitive to the culture and climate of their place. We have applied the same priorities from housing to education to furniture.

The BOS philosophy and values that inspire every project are the same regardless of scale or size. This explains why no detail is too small in its importance for the BOS Practice and why the same amount of care and attention will be lavished on the design of a door handle, a tap, or a piece of furniture.

These, after all, are the elements of the environment that we physically touch every day of our lies. The BOS Practice believes the quality of a project is not necessarily related to how much it costs, but rather how wisely the resources of time and money are spent. The setting of standards is more about an attitude of mind in defining goals and honouring commitments. In that sense the most important things have not changed - in particular the philosophy of quality and optimism at the most personal of levels.