b'pictures:Paul Mccredie Resenen Bowmanl.El Althoughhe\'s renowned as one of New Zealand\'s top heritage architects, inmany ways Ian Bowmanconsiders himself first and foremost anhistorian. It\'s just that, for him, history comes alive in the structures"Some of the drivers behind the design are what I have people have built, much more than through books or oldlearned from where I work in Wellington," he says. newspapers.Theseincludeanemphasisonconnectionwiththe "Arience in three dimensions," heoutdoors, as well as ample light. Clerestory windows and building is an expe says. "I think that tells you a whole lot more than a book."steel French doors let in the sunlight and open the office Building conservation is a relatively new field, especiallyup to the deck andthe gardens beyond, where nikau inNew Zealand.Ianwasthe firstNew Zealandertopalms and tree ferns create the atmosphere of a native completeapostgraduatequalificationinthis fieldofforest. His Wellington officeis a low-ceilinged space, so specialisation.Inhisarchitecturalpractice,basedinIan has chosen loftier ceilings in the Nelson design. Wellington andNelson,he hasworked on projects asTopersonalisethe spaceshe livesin,Ianusescolour, diverse as the conservation of historical homes,bridgespaintings, furnishings and rugs, or pieces of his children\'s and railway carriages, and the restoration of the St Jamesartwork. Prints of Palladian villas grace hislls, reflecting watheatre in Wellington. Ianis also a lecturer at Victoriahis interest in history. He and his wife, Erin Beatson, have University\'sschool ofarchitecture, and recently lent hisalsoinheriteda collection of18th centurybooks that expertisetoResene inhelping develop the re-releasedbelongedtoErin\'sgreat-great-grandfather,whowas R ne Heritage colour.alsoan architect.They\'vehadthe books repairedand ese chart"Buildingsare absolutelyfascinatingthings,"hesays.preserved by a conservator so that Ian can use them in "Architecture reflects who we are, our culture, ourcs,his office. ethiourowledge. Retaining the best of that is essential. We knhave to knowhere we\'ve comeom to knowhere"Architecture reflects who we are, our culture, w fr w we are and where we\'re going."our ethics, our knowledge.Retaining the best In Newealand, we\'ve only been building an architecturalof that is essential.We have to know where Zhistory for a very short time, compared with many parts ofwe\'ve come from to know where we are and the world. Ian has lived in Venice, and worked in Australiawhere we\'re going." and England. He says the architectural history in Venice is amazing, but there\'s something about New Zealand\'s"They identify what I do," he says. relatively young architecture that really connects with him. Indeed,thesepreservedhistoricalbooks,alivingand "We do need a lot longer to develop a unique feel and ausable experience of history, are a perfect metaphor for unique style of architecture," Ian says. "What we do haveIan\'s work. He says that, for him, each project begins with is something that responds to the newness and rawnessGet the look with asking why a structure is the way it is, what history it hasResene Soapstone ofthis place.There is something changing, somethinghad, and what influences shaped it. With that knowledgeand Resene Pearl. vibrant and alive here that I enjoy. I wouldn\'t like to liveof history, he and his clients can make informed decisions permanently anywhere else."about preserving heritage value and creating spaces that In Nelson, he\'s building a new office, in a concrete-blockareappropriatefortheneeds oftheircontemporary house designed by his father, also an architect, in 1952.owners.H habitat83'