2009 Waikato Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards announced

New Zealand’s first Ronald McDonald Family Retreat, grand country homes and a pioneering ‘green’ building are among winners in the 2009 Waikato Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards.

The awards programme is organised and run by the New Zealand Institute of Architects and supported by Resene.

Judging panel convenor, architect John Sexton, said the standard of entries had been excellent and it was encouraging to see an emphasis on sustainable architecture right across the board.

“There is now total awareness of the importance of sustainability in design,” said Mr Sexton. “We are consistently seeing many sustainable features incorporated and recyclable materials being more commonly used.”

Hamilton’s Kakariki House, by SEKTA Architects, the headquarters of the Wise Trust, won double honours in the commercial architecture and sustainable architecture categories.

The jury praised the way the architects had “breathed new life” into the former retail store, now Waikato’s first official green star building, to provide flexible layout, shared meeting places and much admired interior design.

Public Architecture winners

Hamilton’s new Verandah Café & Function Centre and Te Totara Primary School, both by Chibnall Swann Team Architecture, and the redevelopment of the city’s Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Chibnall Swann Team Architecture and Antanas Procuta Architects in Association were among winners in the public architecture category.

Mr Sexton said the lakeside café - venue for the awards presentation - had already become an admired talking point among the community while the ‘striking’ cathedral redevelopment retained the integrity and dramatic features of the original while meeting contemporary needs.

Southwell School, Performing Arts Centre in Hamilton, by de Lisle Jenkins Architects, was also a winner in the category, hailed for its “clever sympathetic planning”.

The relocated and updated Claudelands Grandstand in Hamilton East, by Smith Pickering Architects was the only winner in the heritage section described as “skilfully integrated into its new surroundings”.

Bridal Veil Falls shelter

The DoC viewing Shelter - Bridal Veil Falls at Raglan by Matthews Scott McNally was among winners in small project architecture admired for the way it echoes the natural landforms around it and for the creative response to a unique design challenge.

The Holt Renovation of an ex-state House Duplex in Hayes Paddock, by Laura Kellaway:Architect and Heritage Consultant, and Edwards White Architects’ fitout of its Hamilton offices were also both winners in the category.


Hamilton residential winners

An inner city Waikato Riverhouse in Hamilton by Design Engine Architects was admired for its floating appearance and the waterfront de Leeuw House by Xsite Architects for its “special relationship with the riverside”.

The twin-gabled Woodcock Road Residence at Matangi, by Edwards White Architects sits comfortably in its rural setting and the Low House at Koromatua by Matthews Scott McNally charmed jurors with its elegance and simplicity.

The Grigg House at Gordonton by Kamermans & Co Architects was designed on a pattern of ‘barn form’ pavilions with pool area and gardens linked to the house through paved extensions of the main living area.

Enduring Architecture

The modernist David O. McKay Building church college at Temple View, Hamilton, opened in 1958, won an enduring architecture award.

Designed by Gary & Clapp and Church Architecture Department in association it was built to modified designs originally prepared by the Church Architecture Department in Salt Lake City. The son of Peter Gary, the late Kiwi architect who modified the design, is also an architect and is flying from his home in Canada to accept the award.

Ronald McDonald Family Retreat

New Zealand’s first Ronald McDonald Family Retreat, on the shores of Lake Rotorua, was sole winner in the multiple housing category.

Designed by Elliott Architects (NP) the two three bedroom properties provide one week’s free accommodation for families who have a child or children with chronic long term, have recently suffered the loss of a child or have a parent with a life threatening illness.

Mr Sexton said the project had been an excellent community effort resulting in a truly tranquil retreat. The jury also praised the way “simple forms, vibrant colours and multi-purpose spaces, complemented by well-designed fittings combine harmoniously to create an effect that belies the modest setting”.

Grand and simple

Substantial new country homes featured among residential winners including Wharewaka House by Peddle Thorp Aitken described as “a confident expression of grand living at its best”.

Jurors said the beautifully detailed villa “sitting majestically beside Lake Taupo,” lifted the holiday home concept to new levels.

Designed for absolute security, it is hidden behind “impenetrable sliding screen doors” when the house is not in use.

The Jackways Treacher Residence by Antanas Procuta Architects is also “built on a grand scale” overlooking Lake Rotokauri near Hamilton.

Jurors admired the way the large country house spreads gracefully across the site with bold form and stunning simplicity.

The smaller Belay Residence at Te Pahu, Pirongia, by the same architects, was also hailed for the “brilliant simplicity of the design” and “delightful and timeless living space”.


Eye-catching interiors

Tauranga’s Holland and Beckett Lawyers building, by Wingate + Farquar, was sole winner in the interior architecture category, catching jurors’ attention with its unconventional open plan arrangement and light and spacious work environment.

Commercial winners included the Timberlands New Office Building in Rotorua, by Opus Architecture, praised for its organic form and eye-catching entrance canopy.

Coromandel and Opotiki

The Ward House - Pauanui Beach, by Kamermans & Co Architects, captured jurors’ attention with its strong geometric forms and an Opito Beach house by Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects (Auckland) brought “fresh effortless quality” to a distinctive three-level design on a challenging coastal site.

A Coastal House at Opotiki by Tennent+Brown Architects proved “a series of surprises” in a delightfully comfortable and understated dwelling.

Taupo residential winners

Taupo winners included the Hall Residence by Ambienti Architects, which jurors felt was in “perfect pitch with the site,” and the Hockly Holiday House by Ken Bryant Architect which was seen as “stylish, timeless, aesthetically attractive and supremely functional”.

Rutherford House, by Tim Dorrington Architects, which is built on a flood plain, was described as “intriguing” with simple forms used to solve the technical problems posed by the site and to meet the living needs of an extended family.

Tauranga homes

The Creedy House at Papamoa by DHT Architects was also a winner in residential architecture noted for its fascinating rooflines and exceptional interior design and the Knight House at Whangamata, by Architecture Page Henderson, proved “a delight to the eye”.

Jurors said the “unrepentantly modern” building, one of the finest examples of the post-war international style in New Zealand, had set a standard seldom achieved in much later schools.

Jurors
Mr Sexton was joined on the jury by fellow architects Jane Lee-Smith from Hamilton and Ian Thorn from Tauranga and accountant Graham Haines from Hamilton.
As well as visiting all shortlisted properties, the judges met with the architects and clients. The buildings were judged against a series of key criteria including their contribution to the advancement of architecture as a discipline and enhancement of the human spirit.
For more award winning New Zealand architecture visit, www.nzia.co.nz

About the New Zealand Architecture Awards
The New Zealand Architecture Awards programme was established by the New Zealand Institute of Architects to celebrate the innovation, creativity and excellence of architectural projects nationwide.
The awards are open to all NZIA Practices, and projects can be entered into one or more of 10 categories – Public architecture, Residential architecture – housing, Residential architecture – multiple housing, Commercial architecture, Urban design, Interior architecture, Heritage, Small project architecture, Sustainability and Enduring architecture. There is no limit to the number of awards the local jury can make in any category.

The programme has three tiers, progressing from the eight regional awards to national recognition – the New Zealand Architecture Awards – and through to the ultimate accolade, the New Zealand Architecture Medal.

All local winners become eligible for consideration for a New Zealand Architecture Award, decided by a national jury, which includes an overseas judge, in early 2010.

In May at the NZIA’s annual Gala Dinner, the finalists for the New Zealand Architecture Medal will be announced, and the winner named later in the evening. Only one New Zealand Architecture Medal is bestowed each year, in recognition of a single built work.

ENDS