Two Kāinga Ora social housing developments are among the 28 winners in the Wellington region honoured at the 2021 Te Kāhui Whaihanga Local Architecture Awards at the Embassy Theatre on 6 May.
An Enduring Architecture award was also presented - to the unaltered modernist home, McKenzie House, by Cedric Firth of Plischke and Firth Architects, which was completed in 1959.
See below for a full list of winners.
Other winners included the Cuba Precinct Redevelopment by Athfield Architects, the Wellington East Girls’ College Redevelopment by WSP Architecture, the Te Awe Library by Herriot Melhuish O’Neill Architects and Good Books by Bonnifait + Giesen Architects / Atelierworkshop.
Ten Housing Awards were presented, including to Long House by Parsonson Architects, The Cube, by First Light Studio and Werry House by Bonnifait Giesen Architects / Atelierworkshop.
On the jury, convenor Andrew Sexton of Andrew Sexton Architecture was joined by Meiling Honson of Jasmax, Rodney Sampson of Warren & Mahoney, Mary Daish of Mary Daish Architect and Nick Bevin of Nick Bevin Architect.
Reflecting on Wellington’s unique architectural needs, Sexton said the winners “demonstrated how we can house people at greater density, whether that be in apartments or as infill dwellings; how Wellington’s architects continue their legacy of homes built on challenging hillsides; how we care for our built heritage at both a very large and a very small scale, and how we create spaces for our communities in the heart of our city.”
The winner of the Ath Cup, presented by Wellington branch chair Angela Foster, was historian Dr Ben Schrader.
About 300 people attended the ceremony, which was opened by Warren and Mahoney architectural graduate Jahmayne Robin-Middleton (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto) and hosted by broadcaster Noelle McCarthy.
The winners
Enduring Architecture
- McKenzie House (1959) by Plischke & Firth Architects
Heritage
- Cuba Precinct Redevelopment by Athfield Architects
- Wellington East Girls' College Redevelopment by WSP Architecture.
Housing
- Werry House by Bonnifait + Giesen Architects / Atelierworkshop.
- Thornton + Hasegawa House by Bonnifait + Giesen Architects / Atelierworkshop (+ Resene colour award.)
- Takahē House by Designgroup Stapleton Elliott.
- The Cube by First Light Studio.
- Te Horo Beach House by First Light Studio.
- Peka Peka Escape by McKenzie Higham Architects.
- Wellington East Girls' College by WSP Architecture.
- Hill House by Novak+Middleton.
- Garden House by Parsonson Architects.
- Long House by Parsonson Architects (+ Resene Colour Award.)
- Echo House by Three Line Studio.
Housing - Alterations and Additions
- McFarlane Street House by architecture +.
- Otaki Beach Alteration by Sharon Jansen - Architect (+ Resene colour award).
- Ellice Street House by Studio of Pacific Architecture.
Housing - Multi Unit
- Kāinga Ora, Hanson Street by Herriot Melhuish O'Neill Architects.
- Castor Crescent Kāinga Ora Development by Tennent Brown Architects.
Interior Architecture
- GW Cuba Workplace Fit-out by Athfield Architects (+ Resene colour award.)
- Waitohi - Johnsonville Library and Community Hub by Athfield Architects.
Public Architecture
- Our Lady of Kāpiti Parish Church by DLA Architects.
- Te Awe Library by Herriot Melhuish O'Neill Architects.
Small Project Architecture
- Good Books by Bonnifait + Giesen Architects / Atelierworkshop.
- Colley Studio by Tse : Wallace Architects.
See photo galleries and read more about each of these projects on our Local Awards page.