The winners of the 2013 New Zealand Architecture Awards were just announced as nineteen architectural projects ranging in scale from a big indoor sports centre in Wellington to a micro-bach on the Coromandel Peninsula, and sited in locat...
The winners of the 2013 New Zealand Architecture Awards were just announced as nineteen architectural projects ranging in scale from a big indoor sports centre in Wellington to a micro-bach on the Coromandel Peninsula, and sited in locations as various as Rotoroa Island in the Hauraki Gulf, the shores of Lake Hawea, and The Mall in Washington, DC, were acknowledged. Alongside the Awards bestowed upon exemplary buildings, the New Zealand Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal for career achievement was conferred on Auckland architect Pip Cheshire. More images and information on the winners after the break.
The New Zealand Architecture Medal, which is awarded to the most outstanding of the New Zealand Architecture Award winners – the best of the best – was presented to The Imperial Buildings, a group of heritage buildings on Auckland’s Queen Street which have been restored and revived by Fearon Hay Architects. The Awards jury convenor, Auckland architect Andrew Barclay, said The Imperial Buildings was a fitting overall winner in a year in which the adaptive re-use of older buildings was a strong theme in the New Zealand Architecture Awards.
New Zealand Architecture Medal
The Imperial Buildings, Auckland, by Fearon Hay Architects
The Imperial Buildings succeeds on as many levels as the complex structure seems to possess. It is a building restoration project which has had an urban revitalization effect, a commercially driven scheme which enhances the civic realm, a hermetic world which provides a public path through a city block. The generous ramped walkway from a hitherto dingy lane serves as an internal plaza which offers to pedestrians passing through and guests seated at tables intimations of the labyrinthine spaces above. The architects have not merely respected the heritage fabric of the buildings, they have revelled in the opportunity to reveal original materials and celebrate historic structure while introducing light and air into a wonderful array of working and hospitality spaces.
Commercial
Cloudy Bay Shack, Blenheim, by Paul Rolfe Architects and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects
An artfully contrived approach leads to an exquisitely sited and thoughtfully planned building that complements the oenological standards of an iconic New Zealand winery. The four-bedroom guesthouse is sophisticated in its design, dramatic in its appearance, exacting in its detailing and restrained in its material expression. The clever sequencing of a visitor’s progress through the building nicely postpones the gratification offered by the veranda-like living area which opens onto a sloping lawn and a prospect of the Richmond Ranges.
Geyser, Parnell, Auckland, by Patterson Associates Ltd
A timeless type is given contemporary form in this commercial project which breaks down a large office complex into a humanly-scaled arrangement of five sub-buildings. Organised around a courtyard, and navigated via lanes and stairs, Geyser reads as an intimate hilltop village, unusually well-adapted to the local climate. Although the carpark receives typically considerate treatment from the architect, the building encourages perambulation and, with its naturally lit and well-ventilated work spaces, provides for pleasurable occupation. Passers-by are offered tantalising glimpses into the building’s sheltered interior: intrigue is a rare quality in New Zealand’s urban environment, and much to be welcomed.
Telecom Central, Wellington, by architecture+
On a formerly unremarkable but centrally located site in Wellington’s CBD the architect has realised a challenging proposition as a building with a strong urban presence. Two existing buildings and a vacant rear lot have been converted into a 35,000m2 building, 14 storeys high and a block deep. The no-frills fit-out is relieved by a dramatic central atrium that enlivens the interior, and with its angled glass façade the 5 Green Star (Design) building offers a striking face to the city. A further civic cont
