Obituary: Jeremy Salmond QSO FNZIA

Jeremy Salmond handed away peacefully in Auckland on the third of January 2023, a day after his 79th birthday.

Jeremy was a good friend and mentor of, and collaborator with, many architects round Aotearoa. He was, to many, probably the most revered conservation architect within the nation, having actually written the e-book on outdated New Zealand homes. He was the founding director of Salmond Reed Architects and, in 2007, was awarded the Queen’s Service Order (QSO) for his contribution to the preservation of New Zealand’s heritage of serious buildings. In 2018, Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects recognised his towering contribution to our constructed atmosphere with the NZIA Gold Medal – an award for which he was grateful however, concurrently, incredulous to obtain. Such was Jeremy: a form, light and ever-humble man who merely cherished design.

I met Jeremy for the primary time in 2006 once I started working half time at Salmond Reed Architects. Nonetheless a scholar, I used to be initially tasked with jobs which I now realise had been designed to assist me develop however actually supplied nothing to the apply. Till, on my second day within the workplace, I used to be seated subsequent to a different director and Jeremy handed my desk, with the same old bounce in his step, and requested that I assist with a seating format for an outdated theatre. He was advocating for the safety of the theatre and was aiming to indicate that its kind might be tailored and nonetheless present a worthwhile seating association for brand new operators. Over the time that I knew Jeremy, the sort of professional bono work in assist of neighborhood teams and heritage advocates across the nation was frequent. Jeremy all the time wished to assist and, as a passionate believer within the energy of structure, believed that nearly any problem might be solved with the appliance of fine design.

Scared shitless, I proceeded to draft a seating plan for the founding director of the apply, summoning all of the expertise generated by my earlier day of architectural employment. I will need to have misplaced a number of kilos in sweat as, nervously, I labored. Jeremy took my plan to the assembly that night and the theatre nonetheless stands. In hindsight, I’m fairly positive I made each mistake potential in that drawing however Jeremy was type in his response to it, selecting to not spotlight my shortcomings however as a substitute to level to any meagre indicators of future usefulness. He was like that with everybody: beneficiant together with his time and all the time open to discussing concepts with wit and optimism. When issues had been robust, Jeremy was all the time a supply of vitality and positivity within the workplace. Amongst the chat of recent graduates, nobody ever had a harsh phrase to say about Jeremy.

He labored on the restoration of main historic buildings throughout New Zealand, together with the previous Auckland Jewish Synagogue and plenty of marae, Auckland’s Civic Theatre, the Pompallier Printing Home in Russell, St Matthew-in-the-Metropolis, Auckland, Sacred Coronary heart Cathedral in Wellington, Auckland Artwork Gallery, the previous Auckland Chief Submit Workplace and Auckland Warfare Memorial Museum, to call however a number of. He has left us an unimaginable sequence of buildings, that are actively used elements of our communities relatively than relics.

Jeremy believed within the energy of design to unravel issues. A lot of his consultancy work with different architects rested on this perception. His work with Nat and Pip Cheshire across the Britomart precinct marked a elementary change in the best way that our metropolis approaches and appreciates its heritage buildings. These tag-team preparations all the time sprouted from a mutual respect between colleagues. He fashioned relationships like this with so many inside the occupation and, in every occasion, his affect might be seen within the fastidiously thought of retention of a lot of our constructed heritage, with out the stifling of up to date design.

By way of his profession, Jeremy additionally developed a shocking potential to stroll an exceedingly tough path – offering design critique to design architects in a fashion which they valued and accepted. His method with phrases and his fast wit had been appreciated; I’m positive they made many ideas extra palatable. When introducing me to his contemporaries, lots of whom had been/are luminaries inside New Zealand structure, Jeremy would all the time say, “I taught him every little thing he is aware of and he’s nonetheless ignorant”. He was charming in a method that was disarming. All of his wit was utilized gracefully and with out malice.

Jeremy was born in Dunedin and raised in Gore. His father was a lawyer and his mom a secretary. His uncle and grandfather had been architects of word and his expertise with a pencil was evident at a younger age, as he enthusiastically drew illustrations of American vehicles pictured in In style Mechanics journal. Jeremy studied structure on the College of Auckland, which, a number of many years later, would recognise him with the distinguished Distinguished Alumni Award in 2020. However, in reality, Jeremy was not a naturally good scholar. He overtly recalled failing papers on quite a few events. It was round this time of educational purgatory that Jeremy met Anne, who taught him how you can examine. Virtually immediately, his grades improved and he was on his method to a full-time place with the Ministry of Works.

Anne’s affect on Jeremy’s life can’t be understated. I don’t assume I’ve ever met a pair who’re each so individually sensible, and much more so collectively. Jeremy cherished Anne and their three youngsters utterly. He was a devoted father and household man, in all one of the best senses of that time period. Given his large dedication to his household, it’s laborious to consider he was in a position to handle the vitality or time to have such a full and profitable profession. On this method, he was an inspiration past his skilled achievements.

In 2000, Jeremy and Anne started their work on the Waikereru Ecosanctuary, simply north of Gisborne. The pair purchased a beleaguered farm alongside the river’s edge, primarily to save lots of the final remaining stand of mature native timber within the valley. Some 23 years later, Waikereru is a tremendous instance of panorama restoration and collaboration. Jeremy designed a number of buildings on the location, together with a house which was constructed by his brother and awarded by the institute for its ingenuity the next yr.

It was in Gisborne that I actually started to know Jeremy. Not his worker, older by a decade and marginally extra assured in myself, I used to be in a position to have interaction together with his pondering otherwise. I lived in Gisborne for a yr, constructing a undertaking on the grounds of the ecosanctuary for my PhD. Throughout that point, I lived in his home greater than he and Anne did. I’m nonetheless astounded by his generosity in letting me construct a undertaking on his land, with actually not more than a dialog and my assurance that “it’ll be good”. Such was his spirit of journey and his assist of younger designers.

When he and Anne had been in Gisborne, my volunteer military was handled to probably the most beneficiant hospitality. They took me to household gatherings and welcomed me in a method that I haven’t skilled earlier than or after. Usually after dinner, Anne would head to sleep, and Jeremy and I’d stand within the kitchen and discuss apply, design, panorama, politics, vehicles, household and the way formative challenges are. Jeremy had tangled with most cancers within the years prior and he was open about how that had modified his outlook and strengthened what was necessary in household and work. Throughout the identical interval, and in subsequent years, Jeremy was all the time somebody I spoke with when issues had been difficult. He had a gradual method of seeing a path forward. Maybe his work on outdated buildings had given him the flexibility to play the lengthy sport. I’ll miss his steering, humour and friendship, as I do know many people will.