Lillian Chrystall

Lillian Jessie Chrystall (née Laidlaw; 1 March 1926 – 24 February 2022) was a New Zealand architect. She was the first woman to receive a national New Zealand Institute of Architects award.

Biography Chrystall was born in the Auckland suburb of Herne Bay on 1 March 1926, one of three children of businessman Robert Laidlaw and American-born Lillian Viola Irene Laidlaw (née Watson). One of her brothers was Lincoln Laidlaw, who founded the New Zealand toy manufacturing company, Lincoln Industries. She was raised in Herne Bay, and was educated at Bayfield School and Auckland Girls' Grammar School. After graduating, she was appointed the School of Architecture's first female instructor. Chrystall then returned to New Zealand and started her own architecture practice, Lillian Laidlaw Architects. In the late 1950s, her husband joined the practice and the business was renamed Chrystall Architects.

Chrystall Architects set up their practice on Airedale St in Auckland, where the couple also lived and raised their children. The Airedale St office became a gathering space for various architects, and artists between the 1950s-60s including Peter Bartlett, Bill Wilson, and Ivan Juriss.

Chrystall admitted as a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) in 1974.

Notable projects

Yock House (1964) Yock House in Ngāpuhi Road, Remuera was designed by Chrystall for Anthony Yock, in 1964. The site is steep, sloping down towards Orakei Basin and a series of stepped decks were designed to integrate the house into the landscape. The house features built-in timber furniture in the bedrooms and living area, as well as dark stained rafters and sliding doors reminiscent of Shoji screens.

Chrystall won a Bronze Medal from Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZIA in 1967 for the Yock House and became the first woman to receive a national NZIA award. In 2013, Yock House was awarded the Enduring Architecture Award at the NZIA Auckland Architecture Awards.

Other projects Lincoln Laidlaw House, Ōrākei, Auckland (1950s) Laidlaw House, Taupo (1950s) - reviewed in House and Building March 1954 ASB Bank, Pukekohe, Auckland (1960s) Chrystall House, Hapua St, Remuera, Auckland (1969) (Philip) Yock House, Mission Bay, Auckland

Recognition In the 1989 New Year Honours, Chrystall was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for public services.

Architecture + Women New Zealand named one of their annual excellence awards, the Chrystall Excellence Award, in her honour. +Chrystall Excellence Award Recipients Year Finalists Winner Source 2023 Anna-Marie Chin (Anna-Marie Chin Architects), Sue Evans (Kāinga Ora), Dr. Julia Gatley, Sharon Jansen (Sharon Jansen Architect), Jane Rooney (Architectus) Sharon Jansen, Sharon Jansen Architect 2020 Robin Allison (Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood), Fiona Christeller (architecture FCA), Deborah Cranko (Cranko Architects), Anne Salmond (Salmond Architecture), Christina van Bohemen (Sills van Bohemen Architects) Christina van Bohemen, Sills van Bohemen Architects The couple separated in 1980.

Chrystall retired in 2011.