Winners at the 2015 Nelson–Marlborough Architecture Awards

Park buildings for once contaminated site and innovative new commercial building among winners at the 2015 Nelson–Marlborough Architecture Awards

Two shelter buildings for a remediated park, an alehouse, two houses of a very high calibre, and a new commercial office building designed using home-grown technologies have been rewarded at the 2015 Nelson–Marlborough Architecture Awards.

Marc Barron, convenor of the awards’ three-person jury said submissions were received across a broad range of building types, including education, commercial, hospitality and public buildings, as well as residential. The work ranged from small in scale – amenity buildings and baches – through to medium-sized commercial buildings and a large shopping complex. Geographically, they were spread from the edge of Abel Tasman Park to the outer edge of the Marlborough Sounds, with the majority clustered around the Nelson/Richmond hub.

“As a survey of the region’s architecture, the sample size was not large enough to draw definite conclusions. However a couple of thoughts arise: beautifully considered and constructed houses in spectacular settings will always be a significant feature of this locality; and innovatively engineered timber buildings using local materials and expertise are growing in significance,” said Barron.

The other members of this year’s jury were architect Ralph Roberts, executive director of Warren and Mahoney and head of the practice’s Wellington studio, and lay juror Craig Potton, a photographer, environmentalist and director of Nelson-based publishing company Potton & Burton.

Awards winners

Two small but well-formed new structures designed by Irving Smith Jack Architects for Mapua Waterfront Park have received an award this year. The buildings – one a toilet, the other for services – were recognised in the Small Project Architecture category. Intentionally raw in aesthetic, with material elements such as concrete and weathered steel exposed to view, the buildings “add to the wider composition of the waterfront park, creating a new identity for this local hub, and signalling a new beginning for the remediated brownfield site”, said the judges. The park site was once highly contaminated, is today a community asset, the judges said. “These new shelter buildings make it emphatically clear that Mapua‘s park is a place for people.”

Irving Smith Jack Architects also received an award for Commercial Architecture. Lucas House is a “Generation 2 Timber Structure” built from locally engineered and produced LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) components. (The first generation to utilise this type of building technology was ISJ’s NMIT Arts and Media Building, a New Zealand Architecture Award winner in 2011). Lucas House, a composite engineered LVL timber and concrete structure with a “sacrificial seismic design”, was described by the jury as a “bold and innovative”. The timber frame provides “a strong character and ordering system to the interior, while high ceilings and good natural light and ventilation create pleasant work environments throughout the flexibly planned interior spaces”.

Arthouse Architecture received two awards this year, with the Speights Ale House in Blenheim, winning an award in the Hospitality and Retail category and a house, ‘Kashiwa’, winning a Housing award.

At the Speights Ale House, the jury made note of the “clarity of form and the bold use of natural materials”. The building’s exterior, composed of timber and ‘off-form’ concrete with the distinctive marks of the timber boards used during construction, contributes to a “satisfying composition, supporting a lively and comfortable local destination,” the jury said. The overall planning was also complimented, with the central bar a “fulcrum” for patrons entering from front or back, and a “centrepiece for the series of interconnected bar and restaurant seating spaces”.

‘Kashiwa’, located on a site with views across Tasman Bay, “masterfully combines” a variety of timber elements, said the jury, with macrocarpa, hoop pine plywood, oak and cedar all used in the building. A long, north-facing wing takes advantage of the sun and views, while another wing running east to west creates a sheltered courtyard. “This is a beautiful house that elegantly brings together Asian and New Zealand elements to create a restful retreat suitable for both living and working,” said the jury.

The Bronte Road House, designed by Queenstown-based Kerr Ritchie Architects, also won in the Housing category. The “well-planned and graceful home” sits on a gently sloping site with views across a nearby estuary towards Mount Arthur. The distinctive form, composed of three clearly identifiable volumes, clad in either cedar or dark metal, gives the house a dramatic presence, while careful planning ensures that inhabitants enjoy the benefits of access to natural light and views, said the jury.

ENDS

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