An epic wine cellar, a beautiful new school for just 80 children and a community centre with quirky colour detailing have taken out the year’s top architecture awards for the Nelson Marlborough region.

Eleven architecture projects, chosen from 17 shortlisted projects across seven categories, have been named Local Awards winners at an event at The Suter Art Gallery in Nelson.

“All of the projects we visited responded to the comparatively rural nature of the region and we tended to see buildings that reflected that characteristic quite strongly, even in the residential categories. The architects have taken the rural vernacular as a guide, using simple pragmatic forms,” says awards jury convenor, Min Hall.

“There was also an encouraging consciousness of environmental and sustainable issues overall, and we were pleased to see much more openness to acknowledging te ao Māori in the public projects.”

Rural Workshop Architecture won three awards across three categories. Real Workspace, an office space that integrates wellness architecture practices, won in the Commercial Architecture category; Awatere Hilltop House, a beautifully isolated home that mirrors the surrounding hills, won in the Housing category; and Head of the Bay house won in the Housing – Alterations and Additions category, for a understated remodel of a bunk room and bach in the Marlborough Sounds.

Jerram Tocker Barron Architects also won three awards. New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, a research and education centre for grape and wine research at the local Institute of Technology, won in the Commercial Architecture category, while Maitahi Quarter Townhouses, a multi-unit project that overlooks Nelson’s Maitai River, won the Housing – Multi Unit category. And Motueka Public Library – Te Noninga Kumu, inspired by the traditional forms of rural farm buildings, won in the Public Architecture category.

Full list of 2023 Nelson Marlborough Winners:

Commercial Architecture
• The New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa by Jerram Tocker Barron Architects
• Cellar One Cloudy Bay Vineyards by Paul Rolfe Architects
• Real Workspace by Rural Workshop Architecture

Education
• Karamea Area School by MOAA Architects

Enduring Architecture
• Alpine Lodge, St Arnaud (1984), by Architect Ian Jack
• Pohara Hall, Golden Bay (1971) by Architect Alex Bowman

Housing
• Awatere Hilltop House by Rural Workshop Architecture
• Studio House by William Samuels Architects 

Housing - Alterations and Additions
• Head of the Bay by Rural Workshop Architecture

Housing - Multi Unit
• Maitahi Quarter Townhouses by Jerram Tocker Barron Architects

Public Architecture
• Motueka Public Library – Te Noninga Kumu by Jerram Tocker Barron Architects

Resene Colour Award Winners
• Awatere Hilltop House by Rural Workshop Architecture
• Karamea Area School by MOAA Architects
• The New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa by Jerram Tocker Barron Architects

The 2023 Nelson Marlborough Architecture Awards jurors were:
• Architect Min Hall, jury convenor
• Siân Taylor of Team Green Architects
• Jonathan Fraser of Studio Pacific
• Sarah Pickens, Architect

See photo galleries and read more about these projects on our Local Awards page.