Cause for optimism in 2011 Auckland Architecture Awards
The economy may be fragile but architecture in Auckland has
rarely been healthier.
Consistent with the city's current optimism about its built
environment, the New Zealand Institute of Architects' 2011 Auckland
Architecture Awards attracted a record number of entries (150) and
has yielded a bumper crop of awards (42).
"We were presented with a very high standard of work across many
building types and scales," says Awards jury convenor, architect
Gary Lawson. "One stand-out feature was the significant number of
impressive public and commercial projects in the central city
area."
"Award-winning buildings such as the Auckland Art Gallery, and
work in the Britomart Quarter and in the new Wynyard Quarter, have
given the city a real sense of momentum," Lawson says. "I think
Aucklanders are now very aware of the importance of good
architecture, and should be confident the city will continue to get
it."
Lawson says the CBD and the Auckland waterfront are not the only
places where the architectural bar has been raised.
"The new MOTAT Aviation Display Hall at Point Chevalier is a
stunning building, and the new transport hub at New Lynn will be a
catalyst for local regeneration," he says. "And then there are
buildings like the new Navy Museum at Devonport and the exhibition
centre on Rotoroa Island - projects that prove that modest budgets
are no barrier to good design."
Residential architecture, which Lawson says has always been a
strong design category in Auckland, is also well represented in
this year's Awards, as are interior architectural projects such as
the "clever and characterful" Cocoro restaurant in Grey Lynn and a
temporary Britomart bar that is a "tongue in cheek" take on the
country club type.
"The jury visited many special places, and many that we didn't
want to leave," Lawson says.
"What these winning projects had in common was an artful
integration of structure, technology, and the wider surroundings,
and also a consideration for the people who occupy the buildings
and for those who observe the buildings."
Several architecture practices made repeated visits to the
winners' podium at the 12 October Awards ceremony, fittingly held
at the twice-awarded Auckland Art Gallery. Architectus received
four awards, while Herbst Architects, Strachan Group Architects and
Warren and Mahoney Architects were all triple award-winners.
Joining Gary Lawson on the jury of the 2011 Auckland Architecture
Awards were architects Tim Hay, Max Herriot and Kate Rogan.
The New Zealand Architecture Awards is the official,
peer-reviewed awards programme of the New Zealand Institute of
Architects, the professional body to which 90 per cent of New
Zealand's registered architects belong. Each of the NZIA's eight
constituent branches holds an annual awards programme for its
catchment area.
Projects are submitted into categories covering the various types
of work undertaken by New Zealand architects, e.g., commercial
architecture, public architecture and residential architecture.
Please
click here to view the award winning projects.