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Hills Clubhouse in Arrowtown, DoC's Conservation House in Wellington and Trinity Apartments in Auckland were named as winners of the country's highest award for architecture at a gala dinner in Auckland on May 24. The institute also honoured acclaimed architect Ivan Mercep with its Gold Medal in recognition of his outstanding career in architecture in New Zealand, which spans over 50 years. The importance of Wellington's iconic Massey House, designed by Ernst Plischke and Cedric Firth in 1957, was recognised with an Enduring Award. National judging convenor Pip Cheshire, of Auckland-based Cheshire Architects, said the winning buildings reflected the fact that New Zealand was increasingly producing buildings of international stature. 'We are seeing a great deal more sophistication in New Zealand architecture,' he said. 'While solutions are responsive to the demands of New Zealand, they display a true knowledge of world conditions of architecture.' Hills Clubhouse, designed for jeweller Michael Hill by Auckland-based Patterson Associates Ltd, was created to seamlessly integrate with the landscape. Less than a quarter of the clubhouse is above ground, the roof is topped with native tussock and it is built to the highest sustainable principles. DoC's Conservation House, in Manners Street, was redeveloped by Wellington-based architecture + from a series of 1980's buildings including a former cinema. It is now regarded as one of New Zealand's most environmentally friendly buildings. Trinity Apartments, by Auckland-based Architectus, occupies a sensitive key location opposite the city's Anglican Cathedral. It was praised by judges for its rich streetscape and as 'proof that apartment buildings can provide high quality environments and make significant contributions to the urban landscape'. Mr Mercep, of Auckland, was among founders of the Jasmax practice. The many acclaimed and award-winning projects he has worked on range from Te Papa Tongarewa - the Museum of New Zealand to Auckland's Samoa House and Auckland University's magnificent Fale Pasifika complex. Supreme Awards recognise exceptional New Zealand architecture. They are made annually to projects that have already won a New Zealand Award for Architecture.
The Hills Clubhouse
Conservation House The building's environmental control systems are cleverly exploited to create a lively and protected rooftop garden, meeting rooms and café. This is adaptive reuse at its best and will be a benchmark for the future.
Trinity Apartments - 429 Parnell Road
Massey House (1957) Wellington
Clooney A strong palette of materials has been added to complete the restaurant and bar. Oiled basalt, blackened oak and steel, leather and blown glass feature. These elements complement, not conceal, the given space and materials. he dining space is further subdivided by heavy curtains and a contrasting tracery of full height veils of black vertical filaments, adding a delicacy, intimacy and mystery within a rich interior. Inventive, appropriate and stylish, this is a great space to be in.
Photographers: Patrick Reynolds & Simon Devitt Colin McCahon Artists' Residence, French Bay, Auckland Without resorting to deference or imitation, the McCahon Artists' Residence contrasts the original McCahon house with delicacy, elevation and scale. It is a successful and fitting neighbour.
Photographer: Patrick Reynolds Onetangi House, Waiheke Island The building is beautifully detailed and constructed, engaging with its surroundings yet cleverly providing privacy for its inhabitants. A house entirely right for the site and beach living.
Photographer: Patrick Reynolds Tarrant-Millar House, Grey Lynn, Auckland The house is carefully sited and planned to achieve sun, outlook, privacy and an intimacy with the site. The house has considered, and been considerate to, its neighbours. It sits well within the neighbourhood and its contemporary lines complement its mostly Edwardian neighbours. It is skilfully and commodiously planned, and beautifully constructed with a restrained use of simple materials. It is a delight.
Photographer: Patrick Reynolds Franklin: The Centre, Pukekohe, South Auckland The complex revolves around a civically proportioned entry foyer and courtyard that link library, art gallery and public café, while providing a dynamic space for community events. In the library a large-span sawtooth roof is cloaked in computer controlled glass louvres that bathe the library in ample south light and auto-magically open to naturally ventilate the single space when required.
Photographer: Simon Devitt Sovereign House, Takapuna, Auckland Staff aspirations for an office with a view have been wryly countered by the strategy of hanging individual managers' fishbowl-like offices out over the edge of the abyss where these overseers become well and truly overseen. This overt display of the workings of the company is mirrored by an equally candid exposition of the mechanical services used to sustain the internal environment. The design team have admirably orchestrated the myriad strands of exposed piping, cabling and lighting into a colourful refrain, articulating their function to the workers they serve. A delightful working environment that pushes boundaries of office design in New Zealand.
Sovereign House - Interior Design This is an interior fitout that provides many humane touches that balance and complement the almost urban scale of the architectural spaces.
Alfriston College, Manurewa, South Auckland An emphasis on providing an environment where students can develop independent learning skills has driven the integration of flexibility and choice throughout the school. Flexibility of teaching space configuration through operable walls and screens and comprehensive implementation of ICT networks is reinforced by the sheer variety of indoor and outdoor learning spaces catering for specific needs. The campus has an urban-scaled environment of individual structures unified by their careful placement around a sheltered courtyard space. Landscape has been thoughtfully integrated within the entire composition in a way that also provides environmental learning possibilities for students. This is a comprehensive and humane design response.
Photographer: Simon Devitt Waitakere City Council - Waitakere Civic Centre, Henderson,
Waitakere City
Photographer: Simon Devitt Stanley Point House, Devonport, Auckland
Lindale Bach, Great Barrier Island
Photographer: Patrick Reynolds Westmere House, Westmere Auckland Playful moments enliven the house by way of secret passages and splashes of colour offering a counterpoint to its otherwise slick subdued interior. This beautifully detailed house succeeds as a sophisticated urban residence.
Photographer: Mark Smith
Mai Mai House, Auckland
Photographer: Patrick Reynolds Britomart Chief Post Office, Auckland
Photographer: Simon Devitt
Wellington Zoo Amphitheatre, Newtown The key gesture of opening up the rear of the theatre with fold-up wall elements demonstrates a thorough understanding of how visitors circulate through, and gather in, the zoo, as well as providing a dynamic presence in its significant location. A clear and rigorous design approach to form and detailing, together with a thoughtful choice of materials, has resulted in a beautiful and ever-changing light quality. Sitting in the theatre is a poetic and delightful experience.
Photographer: Paul McCredie Greytown Forum, Greytown, Wairarapa Through the veranda and translucent wall on the north, this project successfully addresses and connects to the wider context of Greytown's streetscape. The thoughtfully worked detailing and material selection, layered into the rich sectional quality of the project, show careful consideration of the more intimate experience of the users, bringing in moments of joy in the everyday use of this building. There is a clear distinction between the existing and new parts of the building. This revitalises the old and adds depth and delight to the new.
Photographer: Patrick Reynolds Conservation House, Wellington, Manners St. Wellington Skilfully carved out from an old cinema complex, are two lofty atria and four levels of light and airy office space for the Department of Conservation, topped off with a staff cafe and roof garden. With a strong focus on ESD, this architecture is successful on all levels, from the street through to the invigorating work environment.
Photographers: Mark Hadfield and Paul McCredie Salamanca House, Kelburn, Wellington The highly creative response within plan and section to the site's considerable constraints has led to a project that has a strong and distinctive form. The intensely resolved and crafted detail is a huge credit to the skill and persistence of both the architect and builder. This house provides thoughtfully balanced measures of containment and outlook; privacy and a public face. The result is a collection of gracious spaces that are a pleasure to be in. Photographer: Patrick Reynolds
Palmerston North Clock Tower, 'The Square', Palmerston North This restrained refurbishment and addition has literally elevated the existing clock tower to be a true marker of time. While the clock indicates the hour, the tower's new lantern changes character with the sun's daily and seasonal movements. The integrated layers of sophisticated lighting also provide a vibrant contribution to the city at night. The crisp and restrained detail and colour allow the tower and its remodelled base to be experienced with equal delight at varying scales - up close, around the remodelled square and from a distance of several city blocks. The clock tower has successfully navigated the fine line of making a striking addition, while respecting the existing structure's past, ensuring the healthy longevity of Palmerston North's focal point.
Photographer: Paul McCredie
The Hills Clubhouse, Arrowtown A wonderfully sophisticated bunker that incorporates a flexible functional brief, sensitive siting, and plenty of drama. Outstanding in concept and execution, with careful and consistent detailing, finishing, and furnishing. The articulation of precast concrete slabs, GRC panels, cast insitu elements and polished concrete floors is consummate and evidences a new level of confidence in concrete construction, perhaps not seen since the brutalist work carried out in Christchurch in the 1960s. The plan and details generated by a simple 'slipping' of a rectilinear form are at once incredibly simple yet highly dynamic. Photographer: Simon Devitt
A.J. Hackett Bungy Centre, Gibbston Valley, Queenstown A bold and intellectual concept integrating the rugged cliff-face site and its environs with the idea and adrenalin-filled character of the building's function. The building is a clear expression and promotion of the culture of bungy, yet belies this with a more subtle and far-reaching agenda of siting and structure. A sophisticated site-as-building strategy and a circulation event that echoes the dynamic nature of the adventure experience beyond are highly successful.
Wakatipu Basin House, Queenstown This house initially appears to eschew some fundamental concerns of a country house - its point of entry is disguised, sun and wind are seemingly ignored, and provision of outdoor shelter is denied. However, closer inspection reveals a deliberately self-effacing one-bedroom house (with occasional ' 2+2' loft accommodation over the garage) arranged about a tent-and-cave indoor/outdoor living room, and its design intentions become more legible. The strength of a bold and severe form coupled with expansive landscape gestures render the house a singular and intriguing proposition in a potentially overwhelming site. The apparent simplicity of the rural shed silhouette belies the sophistication of the internal environment, where heroically-scaled elements and carefully selected finishes mediate the powerful landscape and contribute to an overall composition of clarity and restraint.
Photographer: Patrick Reynolds Drift Bay House, Queenstown An antidote to the large (and typically empty) mausoleums that constitute a large portion of Queenstown's outlying housing stock - and a refreshing product of experimentation and self-confidence rather than fashion. The house has been designed with a clear understanding of site, form, microclimate, solar and environmental concerns, as well as the necessities of raising a growing family and of building to a realistic budget. At its heart - a simple but very effective plan, cleverly framing a number of landscape elements and responding rationally to the harsh environment. A joy to be in.
Photographer: Paul McCredie The NZIA Resene Awards for Architecture are organised by the NZIA. Please see the NZIA website for details on how to enter. |
NZIA Resene Awards for Architecture 2008
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