Armson, Collins and Harman was an architectural firm in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It was founded by William Barnett Armson (1832/3–1883), and after his death, became the practice of two architects who articled with him, John James Collins (1855–1933) and Richard Dacre Harman (1859–1927).

History

Armson, Collins and Harman was one of the two oldest architectural firms in the country. The practice was founded by Armson in 1870 who was one of the most prolific architects in early Christchurch. Having been articled to Armson as a young architect, J.J. Collins bought the firm after Armson’s death. Four years later, Collins brought Harman (a son of

Richard James Strachan Harman Richard James Strachan Harman (14 April 1826 – 26 November 1902) was trained as a civil engineer. However, in Christchurch, New Zealand, he worked as a bureaucrat, politician and businessman. He was one of the Canterbury Pilgrims, having arriv ...

) into partnership with him, Harman also having previously articled with Armson. Collins and Harman may have been the first New Zealand-born, educated and trained Christchurch architects. John Goddard Collins (1886–1965) joined his father’s staff in 1903. In 1928, the firm's name was shortened to Collins and Harman. John Kempthorne Collins (1916–1983), son of J.G. Collins, joined the firm at a later date. Eventually, the name changed to Collins Architects Ltd before closing in 1993.

Works

Christchurch Press Building - as it once was

Many examples of their work were still standing before the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

. These include commercial buildings in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, and Lyttelton. The Strange and Co's building on the corner of High and Lichfield Streets, in Christchurch was built for a company that was established in 1863. Others included Christchurch Press Building (1909), Nazareth House (1909), Curator’s House, Botanic Gardens, Rolleston Avenue (1919), the former Canterbury College Students Union (1927), the Nurses Memorial Chapel at Christchurch Public Hospital (1927), and the

Sign of the Takahe The Sign of the Takahe is a neo-Gothic style historic building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is currently leased from Christchurch City Council and run as a cafe, bar, and function centre. History Construction began on the building in 19 ...

(1934/36). They also designed private residences such as Blue Cliffs Station Homestead (1889); residence of

Arthur Rhodes Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. (born October 24, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who is the current pitching coach for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Career Rho ...

, '' Te Koraha'' ('The Wilderness'), Merivale, where the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall stayed during their Christchurch visit in 1901; residence of G. H. Rhodes, at Claremont, Timaru; residence of R. H. Rhodes at Bluecliffs; residence of G. E. Rhodes at Meadowbank; residence of H. D. Buchanan at

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

; and the Longbeach House, built for John Grigg.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Architecture firms of New Zealand Companies based in Christchurch Design companies established in 1870 Design companies disestablished in 1993 People associated with the Canterbury Society of Arts New Zealand companies established in 1870 1993 disestablishments in New Zealand