Finalist: Michael Holehouse
Architecture for the Whangamarino Wetland by Michael Holehouse, Unitec Department of Architecture.
This project addresses the lack of access to the Whangamarino Wetland, a significant freshwater wetland situated in the Waikato. A range of architectural interventions scattered across the wetland have been explored, with each pertaining to a different part of this rare and important habitat. The project recognises the inextricable links between earth, water and vegetation, with these three key factors combining in different degrees to create a variety of unique, ever-changing conditions for architecture.
Citation
Conceived as a distilled series of poetic moments, this project sensitively opens the door to a previously inaccessible wetland. Considered, restrained archetypal forms (demonstrated by highly crafted models) have been designed to eloquently acknowledge the ground conditions on which they stand.
