2011 New Zealand Architecture Awards celebrate the best work by New Zealand’s Architects
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Professional hi-res images of all award-winners available from
jwalsh@nzia.co.nz
A list of Award winners, with abridged citations, is appended
below
2011 New Zealand Architecture Awards celebrate the best work by
New Zealand's Architects
Buildings ranging from an office tower in Auckland to an opera
house in Oamaru, from houses on Waiheke Island to an apartment in
New York City, and from a railway station in Newmarket to a bus
shelter in Queenstown, are among 24 projects recognised in the 2011
New Zealand Architecture Awards, New Zealand's premier architecture
competition.
A slick new heliport in Onehunga, a bold extension to the City
Gallery in Wellington, a bravura visitor centre for the historic
Waitomo Glowworm Caves, and a serene Hawkes Bay house designed by
Sir Miles Warren in the 1970s were among the winners in the New
Zealand Institute of Architects' official awards programme.
The New Zealand Architecture Awards indicate the breadth of work
undertaken by the country's architects, and offer a snapshot of the
state of the country's architecture, says Awards jury convenor,
Wellington architect Hugh Tennent.
"The Awards are evidence that New Zealand architecture is in a
healthy and vibrant state, despite current economic and financial
difficulties," says Tennent.
"We were particularly impressed with some brilliant public and
commercial buildings. The Birkenhead Library and Community Centre
is a wonderful community asset, St Kentigern School Jubilee Sports
Centre is very cleverly sited, and the high-rise at 21 Queen Street
shows that sustainability and commerce can be reconciled."
Another strong category in Awards was residential architecture,
Tennent says.
"Highly accomplished houses are being designed by New Zealand
architects, often in beautiful settings. New Zealanders
traditionally have prized landscapes over buildings, but
architecture and the environment shouldn't be at odds.
"Houses like those designed by Mitchell and Stout, Patterson
Associates and Fearon Hay on Waiheke Island, and by Stevens Lawson
at Te Mata and Wanaka, and the Dunedin eco-sanctuary designed by
Architectural Ecology, prove architecture can be appreciated in the
landscape in its own right."
As well as recognising new work, the jury gave Awards to
older buildings of enduring worth.
"The Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington is nearly 30 years old
and the Freyberg Pool was built in the 1960s, but they still feel
modern and they're still enjoyed by the community. They're integral
to the Wellington cityscape."
The jury also acknowledged two buildings of even earlier
vintage, the original Supreme Court in Wellington and the Oamaru
Opera House.
"The Supreme Court is a very well done restoration job, while
the Oamaru Opera House is an excellent example of clear, unfussy
adaptive re-use," Tennent says. "The town should be very proud of
what it and its architects have achieved."
One message the Awards send, Tennent says, is that architectural
quality is not dependent on building scale. Several Awards were
given in the small project category. Appropriately enough, one went
to an Auckland building commissioned by Plunket, the organisation
that cares for our smallest citizens.
The New Zealand Architecture Awards jury, comprising Hugh
Tennent, Auckland architects Marshall Cook and Daniel Marshall and
international juror, Sydney architect Camilla Block, made awards in
10 categories. Two projects received two awards - 21 Queen Street
(Commercial Architecture and Sustainable Architecture) and the
Supreme Court of New Zealand (Heritage and Interior Architecture).
The New Zealand Architecture Awards jury will select an overall
winner from the recipients of New Zealand Architecture Awards. That
winner, who will receive the 2011 New Zealand Architecture Medal,
will be announced on 20 May.
2011 New Zealand Architecture Award winners in their categories,
with abridged Award citations:
Commercial Architecture
Auckland Heliport
Onehunga, Auckland
Architect: Maxcey Architects Ltd
"Bringing transparency and translucency to internal walls and
the operable southern façade, the Architect has designed a building
that celebrates flight and flying machines."
21Queen Street
Auckland Central
Architect: Peddle Thorp Aitken Limited
"A Cinderella-like transformation of an unremarkable but
fundamentally sound building into a graceful tower that enhances
the cityscape of downtown Auckland Commercial
Architecture."
Waitomo Glowworm Caves Visitor
Centre
Otorohanga, Waikato
Architect: Architecture Workshop Ltd
"Standing in counterpoint to the subterranean experience that
awaits its visitors, the building has a poetic quality that
sustains multiple readings - as hinaki, or eel trap, for example,
or cave of light."
Enduring Architecture
Foster House
Havelock North
Architect: Warren and Mahoney Ltd
"All elements, built and natural, cohere and complement each
other to produce a quiet and calm effect."
Freyberg Pool
Wellington
Architect: King and Dawson
"Swimmers in Wellington will often be grateful for a building
around them, and always be thankful for the modest wonder that is
the Freyberg Pool."
Michael Fowler Centre
Wellington
Architect: Warren and Mahoney Ltd
"Drawing on, and learning from, their experience at Christchurch
Town Hall, the Architects produced a building with a lofty
auditorium, boldly cantilevered balconies, state-of-the-art
acoustic performance and perfected sightlines."
Heritage
Oamaru Opera House
Oamaru
Architect: Williams Ross Architects
"In this perfectly pitched project, a fine but neglected
provincial opera house has been successfully redeveloped as a
magnificent resource for its town."
Supreme Court of New Zealand
Wellington
Architect: Warren and Mahoney Ltd
"The building's history has been celebrated, while the insertion
of contemporary furniture has allowed functional and relevant
occupation."
Interior Architecture
Supreme Court of New Zealand
Wellington
Architect: Warren and Mahoney Ltd
"The interior of the court is an extraordinary room displaying,
in its joinery and execution, a high level of refined
craftsmanship."
International Architecture
Tribeca Loft
New York
Architect: Fearon Hay Architects Ltd
"In this sophisticated example of architectural interventionism,
bedrooms created as elevated glass cases have been inserted into
the shell of a New York apartment to produce spaces with a delicate
and ethereal quality."
Public Architecture
St Kentigern School Jubilee Sports
Centre
Remuera, Auckland
Architect: Architectus
"Some architectural conjury - more vanishing act than magic
trick - has been deployed on this project. The burying of a large
volume into a slope between two sports fields has unlocked the
potential of the site."
City Gallery Wellington
Civic Square, Wellington
Architect: architecture+
"The extension and now second alteration of the original
building is a case-study in the successful adaptation of heritage
structure and evidence of a highly-developed understanding of urban
space."
Birkenhead Library & Civic
Centre
Birkenhead, Auckland
Architect: Archoffice
"Textured surfaces and dappled light help to realise the
Architect's idea that the experience of reading a book in the
library might be akin to reading a book in a tree."
Residential Architecture - House
Island Retreat
Waiheke Island
Architect: Fearon Hay Architects Ltd
"The house is rather severe in appearance. However, this
austerity is alleviated by occupation, as the inhabitants move
within a loose courtyard conceived as a camping space and the taut
boxes open up to reveal refined interiors."
Waiheke Island House
Waiheke Island
Architect: Mitchell & Stout Architects Ltd
"The house offers several extraordinary moments: the 'thinking
room', a double-height space for music and contemplation so
arresting that one's breathing changes upon entry; the guest
sleeping areas, tiny screened spaces reminiscent of Ryokan
architecture and also suggestive of tree huts; and the brightly
yellow main bedroom. This is a house that engages with the spirit
as well as all the senses."
Local Rock House
Waiheke Island
Architect: Patterson Associates Ltd
"The hard, good looks of the house are softened by the texture
of the local rock, with no sacrifice to the restrained refinement
of the composition."
Te Mata House
Havelock North
Architect: Stevens Lawson Architects Ltd
"A recessive, black form provides shelter from the wind and
sequential framed views. Art is important to this project: the
house, which itself has a sculptural quality, was always envisaged
as a repository for artworks, and a cleverly striated plan allows
the clients' collection to be incorporated into both rooms and
circulation areas."
Te Kaitaka - Lake Wanaka
Retreat
Wanaka
Architect: Stevens Lawson Architects Ltd
"The building, which is located on the shores of Lake Wanaka,
possesses a sculptural quality that mirrors the surrounding
landforms and mountains."
Residential Architecture - Multiple Housing
Te Puni Village
Victoria University of
Wellington
Architect: Architectus
"A dense programme is cleverly resolved in this facility
providing student accommodation and communal spaces on a steep
slope overlooking the city."
Small Project Architecture
Parakete Ora, Sandringham
Plunket
Sandringham, Auckland
Architect: SGA Ltd - Strachan Group Architects
"A simple form and straightforward economy of construction
testifies to an understanding of New Zealand lightweight building
traditions and techniques. This sympathetic building is an
excellent introduction to architecture for some of our youngest
citizens."
Kapiti Retreat
Raumati South
Architect: Geoff Fletcher Architects Ltd
"A building reduced to its essence, this little beach house is
testament to the virtue of sufficiency. Simple and pleasurable, it
has everything one needs, and no more."
iPAD at Porikapa Beach
Porikapa Beach, Taranaki
Architect: Architex New Zealand Ltd
"This is a fine specimen of that elusive species, the successful
modular house. No space is wasted in this inventive building."
Sustainable Architecture
21Queen Street
Auckland Central
Architect: Peddle Thorp Aitken Limited
"A 1970s commercial building, tired but by no means exhausted,
has been given a new and more profitable lease of life."
Orokonui Ecosanctuary Visitor
Centre
Dunedin
Architect: Architectural Ecology Ltd
"The function of the facility is celebrated by the architecture,
which provides a commanding space overlooking the protected
regenerating flora and oriented towards significant landforms."
Urban Design
Newmarket Railway Station
Newmarket, Auckland
Architect: Opus Architecture and Herriot+Melhuish:Architecture
in association
"On a technically demanding site, the Architects have skilfully
handled the programme to produce an urban room that uplifts the
journey for the city's rail users."
Frankton Bus Shelter and Public
Toilets
Queenstown
Architect: Mary Jowett Architects Ltd
"This carefully considered project is a most welcome community
asset, offering shelter and public amenity with style and
delightful straightforwardness."
ENDS
Contact: John Walsh, New Zealand Institute of
Architects
021 276 7447
(09) 623 6086