Bach: an extension of self

Abstract

Baches have always been part of the New Zealand way of life. Clad in asbestos, painted in pastel turquoises, greens, yellows and blues, sitting up above the marram grass peering through the lupin. Summers and weekends see New Zealand families load their cars up with food, clothes, swimming gear and tennis racquets and head out to the bach at Raumati, Waikanae, Foxton or Otaki. To get away from it all, away from the ticking of the Greenwich sun and into an escape-world where time is governed by the sun and the tides. Baches are places that people associate with happy memories, they are an important part of our lives. When we talk about them, it's easy to keep on talking about other aspects of our lives. In this report are case studies of eight baches. The baches are located in several places around the North Island : Pukerua Bay, Otaki, Kairakau, Rakino Island and Raglan. It describes these baches : why the baches were built, where they were built, when, by whom, out of what, how often they're used, how they have been changed...And it describes the bach owners and their memories. Most of the information used in the report is from the owners themselves, got from interviews, letters, visits to the baches and the owners' answers to a fairly extensive questionnaire. The processes involved in getting a bach are very similar to those gone through by an architect designing a building, but in a way a bach owner is more involved being client, builder and architect. Baches are an important part of a person's life. People go from talking about baches to talking about themselves. These two findings meant that a common ground could be struck between architect and bach owner, on a minimal level of interference, to help in the understanding of a person's life, that an architect needs when designing a person a house.