Record price: Unique and rare Group Architects home sells at auction
Saturday, 7 March 2026
Mann house, the concrete block built home, designed by Group Architects’ Ivan Juriss, sold at auction on Thursday for $2.9 million - a record for one of Juriss’ homes. There were nine registered bidders.
The Mount Albert, Auckland property had been extremely popular during its marketing, with large numbers of groups visiting for the open homes.
It’s not clear what the new owners plans are for the property.
Built in 1960, and inspired by Japanese and Scandinavian design principles, the home was completed in stages.
The first section, completed in 1960, included a bedroom, and the core of the home. A master bedroom, second bathroom and study were added in 1976, again designed by Juriss.
The Mann family lived in the home for 30 years. Several other owners followed, and at some point an owner hired architect Marshall Cook to help bring more light into the living room, without damaging the feel of the home. He designed the floor-to-ceiling timber-framed glass pivot door that opens the living space to the garden.
Vendor Catherine Parker, who has lived at the home for more than 20 years, added a guest house and courtyard garden creating a private compound for herself and her family.
The home last sold in June, 2004, for $880,000. In May, 2024, it was valued at $2,225,000.
Speaking prior to the auction, Parker told Stuff that despite the home’s age, the design and choice of materials still feels fresh, and modern.
'I hate using this word, ‘timeless,’ but it is. It's a property that you don't get tired of living in, and you don't want to change it.'
Homes designed by Group Architects are often tightly held, and rarely come on market. A home by James Hackshaw in Titirangi, Auckland, built for the late potter Len Castle, sold at auction for $1.79m in 2021.
Another home by Hackshaw, originally built for family of 11 in Papakura, came on the market a month later. Hackshaw House, sold in October 2021 for a record $5,300,000.