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Back in 2008, when the forerunners of this current series of itineraries were published in Block: The Broadsheet of the Auckland Branch of the NZIA, Andrew Barrie and I wrote two such guides on out-of-print New Zealand architecture books. Together, they capture the publication of about half-a-dozen such books per decade, across each of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, followed by an expansion in numbers this century, particularly from 2004, when the New Zealand Architectural Publications Trust started supporting the publication of monographs on practices.
Now, we are witness to a new phenomenon: the publication of enough titles within one calendar year to fill a whole itinerary – even as print publication is supposed to be in the doldrums, increasingly replaced by digital and online resources. There were a lot in 2021, too. The swathe may yet prove to be a Covid anomaly, with three years of lockdowns having encouraged atypical pursuits.
Several observations can be made about the 2022 books collectively. First, Massey University Press is currently New Zealand’s most prolific publisher of architecture books, thanks to the leadership of Nicola Legat and her demonstrated commitment to the field.
Second, pairings of writers and photographers have become an established kind of authoring unit, particularly when it comes to books on architect-designed houses.
More generally, houses continue to hold a privileged place in New Zealand architecture publishing. There is a market beyond the profession for books on houses, making them a more viable publishing proposition than are books
