Seeing and Being Seen: The Theatre of Ernst Plischke

Ernst Plischke is one of the most well documented and evaluated architects in the New Zealand architectural discourse. However, when we look at the work he is the most well-known for, such as residences, churches and public spaces there is something missing within the language and value we place on this work. Articulating this lack, this thesis will evaluate the oeuvre of Plischke’s work for a more theatrical interpretation which asks the question: what if Ernst Plischke was viewed as an interior architect?  By consuming a five-course meal of design-led inquiry, this research samples Plischke’s body of work and finds an inherent theatricality within it. In exploring the people-centred aspect of this modernist’s oeuvre will look through the lenses of the total experience such as gesamtkunstwerk and mise-en-scène Pursuing these thematic motifs will produce a restaurant scenography, which will be interpreted at shifting scales to establish a theatrical design language.