Boats, Hats And Buildings

We farewell David Mitchell.

A few days after architect David Mitchell died at dawn on April 26, his new business cards arrived in the post. His son – and fellow architect at Mitchell Stout Dodd – Julian Mitchell put them on the shelf above his sunlit drawing board beside the window in their Devonport studio. And there, Julian told David’s packed funeral, is where they’ll stay.

David was an acute observer of the ways we occupy space and his response was to create buildings that were rigorous, challenging, colourful, fun and dramatic. They included the University of Auckland’s music school, Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery in Titirangi and numerous private houses, including a ground-breaking design for the Gibbs family in Parnell, and a number of our Home of the Year winners.