2019 Auckland Architecture Awards Winner
Waikohanga House
Waikohanga House was one of those buildings no one is allowed to tear down but at the same time no one seemed to know what to do with. RTA and Archifact knew. Their restoration, on a very tight budget, venerates the simple beauty of early modernism. It’s a single building from 1947 that’s really two joined buildings. They’ve restored or recreated the windows, handrails, terrazzo stairs and as many of the other original features as they could, and also recreated much of the original colour scheme. They took great care not to allow services and safety features to compromise the spatial elegance or the buildings’ uncompromising line and flow. Old and new are not mixed: brightly coloured new kitchens neatly offset the earlier elements. The rear building boasts an additional floor, in a neomodernist style, making the most of magnificent views to the Domain and the harbour. This is accommodation for graduate students and it’s enough to make you want to go right back to university.
- Practice
- RTA Studio and Archifact in association
- Category
- Heritage
- Location
- Auckland
