The original Reid House must have been something of an alien construct, sitting in the paddocks and orchards of Panmure in the late 1940s and early '50s, before the stylistic duplications that marked the decline of the original 'heroic' New Zealand modernism. A strong sense of the site lends the house a quiet authority. It was placed at geometric right angles within its section and pushed to the rear to take advantage of the site's elevation, capturing views of the Panmure Basin and possibly anticipating future subdivision. Unfortunately, this did occur in 1995, and much of the sweeping view has since been consumed by a house against which it is better to close the blinds.

The exterior displays a simple massing of a structural brick base beneath lighter, blackened, 'skin like' weatherboards. The main interior space is infused with light through high strip windows, counterplaced at either end of the room. The house is quirky in feel, from its overall proportions to its interior detailing. The mixture of fine and clumsy detailing betrays an author whose gifts were, at the time, greater than his experience.

The Reid House is asymmetrical, from its overall geometric layout to the positioning of its windows. My most vivid impression of the house came from my first sighting of its front facade.

I stood looking at the windows, wondering why they were shaped as they were. I later realised why, after seeing original interior photographs showing the spaces furnished for their intended use. Thereafter, I had a strong sense of reading the interior through the exterior.

The interior is simple. Architrave and skirting details have been carried out with some subtlety, although they are almost mean in proportion. The greatest effort was put into the front room, which had a waxed plywood ceiling, expressed joints and exposed fixings. In the same room, open doorways were trimmed with stained timber, creating a defined outline to each opening.

The Reid House is an exploration of the idea of exterior space encapsulated by the courtyard. This was a principle Hackshaw became more conscious of following a scholarship visit to France in 1952, and one to which he returned in the Thom House in Morningside, Auckland. The semi enclosed courtyard serves the living space as a break out area and gives a sense of space to the kitchen. In its original configuration, it also provided ventilation to the bathroom.