Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2024 i Architecture NZ

Fifteen projects by New Zealand architects have been short-listed for this year’s World Architecture Festival (WAF) awards, to be judged in early November. In the Completed Buildings category are 11 projects: TOA Architects’ Te Taumata o Kupe [01] (Civic and Community); RM Designs’ Pounamu Pathway – Mawhera [02] (Culture); Architectus, Jasmax and design TRIBE’s The Pā [03] (Higher Education and Research); RCG’s Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa [04] (Hotel and Leisure); RTA Studio’s Zed House [05] (House and Villa urban/suburban); DCA Architects of Transfromation’s The Chodge [06] and RTA Studio’s Kārearea House [07] (both in House and Villa rural/coastal); Jasmax’s University of Auckland B201 Building [08] and McAuliffe Stevens’ O’Connells, Queenstown [09] (both in Retrofit); Patterson Associates’ Toi Manawa [10] and Warren and Mahoney in association with Lab-works Architecture’s…

I was raised by black-sand beaches and kāmahi forests so, perhaps, it is unsurprising that, with a year’s distance in which to reflect, I think study tours are so precious and enduring because they are meditations on landscapes. We were guided by bodies of water – following the course of the Rhône River and the edge of the Mediterranean coast, and moving across the Strait of Gibraltar – and, along the way, encountered the varied and complex ways landscapes exist, and their meanings and relationships to architecture. When reflecting on landscapes and the places we visited, I often think of Pont du Gard – a Roman aqueduct crossing the Gardon River in France: an impossible bridge, responsible for carrying water for kilometres to the Roman settlement of Nemausus (Nîmes).1 It…

WELLINGTON’S CORPORATE OFFICE TOWERS stretch out along the Quays, jostling to find the best view. A curious gap was left in this row of shiny teeth: the best site left empty except for a lonely petrol station. No more: Newcrest’s latest tower, BNZ Place, completes the grin with a shiny new tooth. Because it is on such a prominent corner, sitting almost directly in Parliament’s view shaft to the harbour, I’m sure that Jacinda and both of the Chrises have been enjoying a good eyeful of the construction. Back to work now. The BNZ’s history in New Zealand is as old as the capital city itself; the company has constructed a succession of head offices, each larger and more impressive than the last. Starting off at Windy Point (see Architecture…

COMMERCIAL “The assemblage of forms relates to the scale and proportion of the adjacent heritage building and gains additional volume by stepping back and cantilevering over the car-park entry.”04 New Bricks on the Block RTA Studio HOSPITALITY “The suspended central stair knits the two buildings together: a counterpoint to the raw textures of the existing walls and floors. Glimpses through original openings create connectivity between the tenancies.”08 HB Central Warren and Mahoney Architects HOUSING “Diminishing volumes distinguish the room hierarchy under the large parirau/wing of the house. A distinctive ceiling of lapped ply references bird feathers. Meticulous timber detailing to cabinetry, doorways and floors navigates through the stepped levels.”14 Parirau Megan Edwards Architects HOUSING — ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS HOUSING — MULTI UNIT “This innovative approach uses mass timber technology to…

COMMERCIAL EDUCATION HERITAGE “The roof form, textured brick façade, concrete pilasters, articulated openings and landscaping… contribute to a sense of urbanity and engagement with the streetscape. The entry canopy on the northern façade is welcoming, as are the interiors.” 01 Kaweka Hospital – Stage 1 Architecture HDT HOUSING “Beneath the roof canopy, spaces for living, sleeping and working are grouped around a central courtyard and linked by internal ‘streets’. With its open oculus, the courtyard provides a sheltered outdoor space for the clients who eschew bright sunshine…”07 Black Beech House Bonnifait + Associates Architects HOUSING — MULTI UNIT INTERIOR SMALL PROJECT PUBLIC “Designed with a commitment to sustainability and cultural integrity, the complex serves as a hub for multiple activities while maintaining its spiritual significance and connection to the land.…

COMMERCIAL HOSPITALITY INTERIOR “The design sensitively transforms the ground-floor tenancy of an old printing house and enhances the character and texture of its original timber and raw concrete surfaces. Quality materials and considered details are elevated by use of texture and a shot of colour.”06 Simple Machines Three Sixty Architecture EDUCATION PUBLIC PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN SMALL PROJECT ENDURING “A vacant 1960s’ boarding school has been skilfully converted into a lively, warm and modern daycare facility. The client’s aspiration to achieve a strong connection to nature has been realised, with the free flow of indoor-outdoor circulation, glazing and indoor planting.” 07 The Wilderness Early Learning Centre IKON Architects HOUSING “Conceived as a high-performance sculpture in which to live and work, the meticulously crafted layout is experienced like an adventure. The…

HAVE YOU SORTED OUT your response to the current government’s strategy for the environment yet? Has Minister Penk’s reduction in keeping a Kiwi house warm and dry shaken loose projects stalled under budget pressure, and are you bringing out a new range of backyard tenements, free from the purview of zealous bureaucratic eyes? If you think the trio running the country seems to be laying waste the country’s fledgling attempts to address the requirements of the Paris Accord with indecent haste, you might give a thought to the philosophical ram raid on our gentle country staged by the fourth Labour government some 40 years ago. I understand this is pretty much ancient history for you TikTokkers out there but, if you can spare a couple of hours to listen to The…

Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects’ Aotearoa Festival of Architecture will return this year, taking place in a number of regions throughout the country from 16 to 29 September. The annual Resene Sir Ian Athfield Memorial Lecture will form part of the line-up, delivered in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland (on 24, 25 and 26 September, respectively) by Chilean architect and educator Sebastián Irarrázaval, pictured below left. A Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Fellow (2018), Irarrázaval’s civic, commercial, residential and education work is underpinned by what he describes as a three-pillared design philosophy, encompassing care, connection and repetition. Also visiting New Zealand during the festival is Australian broadcaster, comedian and architecture enthusiast Tim Ross, who will be presenting ‘Architecture is Ace’ in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch on…

Jasmax has partnered with Kaikohe-based practice ĀKAU and Australian health design specialists HDR on the design of the new Northland Radiotherapy and Oncology Centre at Whangārei Hospital. Currently under construction, the 2200m2 three-storey Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau Northland project has a distinctive fluted, perforated-metal-screen exterior to maintain privacy while also filtering natural light to the interior. Inside, two state-of-the-art treatment rooms will accommodate linear accelerator (LINAC) machines, which target radiation at tumours, and a third will contain a CT scanner. Te Whatu Ora’s recent procurement of both LINAC and CT equipment has enabled the design to be finalised. Project principal Sandee Stanley says working closely with stakeholder groups and mana whenua, Te Ahi Kaa, representing iwi, hapū and whānau from across the Northland region, was integral to shaping…

The universal purpose of a folly is simply to ‘inspire and delight’ but the Brick Bay Folly programme has a further motivation – to offer both students and graduates of architecture and design the chance to test their ideas on real-life projects, manage their construction, develop contingencies and participate in the physical builds. Environmental responsibility also factors into this unique competition, with the re-use of former folly materials, where possible, in an effort to reduce waste, as well as a keen eye on sustainability and recycling in the acquisition of any new materials. The Vitruvian-inspired circularity of Kōmaru, modelled as if on a mini park, is designed to encourage social interaction, providing a place for visitors to sit and enjoy the surrounding natural landscape. Sail-like canvas awnings overhead present as…

TE IWITAHI IS A NEW CIVIC CENTRE FOR Whangārei that brings together council offices, customer services and council chambers under one roof. The name, gifted by Ngā Hapū o Whangārei, acknowledges one of their principal tupuna, Te Iwitahi, and translates as ‘for everyone’, capturing the intention for this to be a place where everyone in the district feels welcome. In early 2019, Team Architects Auckland, as part of a design-build consortium, was engaged to develop the functional brief for the building. Through a series of workshops with client stakeholders, a complex set of spatial, operational and environmental requirements was identified. During this phase, a site was selected adjacent to the Whangārei Central Library and Forum North Entertainment Centre, with the intention of establishing a single civic precinct for the city.…

COMMERCIAL “The undulating façade captures the journey of Te Arawa to Aotearoa and the importance of the Pacific Ocean, while also helping to control solar gain on the western façade. Hahau Matangi, the impressive poupou, traverses the building’s three floors.”01 Te Rito O Manaaki Ora DCA Architects of Transformation EDUCATION INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE HOUSING – MULTI UNIT “Collaboration with mana whenua, Ngāi Tamarāwaho, is evident in the cultural narrative that informs the planning, building graphics and landscaping… Throughout the project, references to the site context through images of Mauao help to celebrate place.”08 Te Kura o Manunui ASC Architects HOUSING “The living roof seamlessly integrates the house into the environment… The light stalks create an intriguing display of colour at night and funnel light deep down into the plan. The house…

COMMERCIAL HERITAGE EDUCATION “The Bowen Street façade cleverly addresses the concave curve of the street, while the generous footpath improves the pedestrian experience. Finely detailed ‘fins’ add dynamism to the sawtooth façade, which is also reflected inside.”02 40 & 44 Bowen Street Tennent Brown Architects HOUSING “Living areas are strung out on an east-west axis connecting to harbour views and the wider cityscape at one end, hunkering into the arrival courtyard at the other. This tension… is exemplified in the interiors, which are highly detailed yet organic and informal.”09 Sar Street House Parsonson Architects HOUSING — ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS HOUSING — MULTI UNIT ENDURING “Courtyards with garden beds provide texture and depth to the edges of shared spaces. Material selection… has been carefully considered to give public areas texture, warmth…

Amongst this year’s World Architecture Festival short list was an unexpected find in the Future Projects - House category – a flat-pack home, designed by RTA Studio. The current housing situation in Aotearoa makes for grim reading. The country’s housing crisis has seen the number of people sleeping in cars rise from 100 in 2017 to an estimated 500 today. Every morning, up to 4000 children wake up in government-paid motel rooms, as their parents wait for emergency housing to become available. These families are amongst the 27,000 New Zealanders currently on a waiting list for social housing. Auckland is the seventh-least-affordable house market in the world, with houses at 10.8 times household income, and New Zealand continues to build houses with 19th-century technology, using carbon-heavy materials and with excessively…

Pan-iwi organisation Te Whānau o Waipareira has embarked on a high-density, build-to-rent kaumātua housing project in Auckland’s Ōtāhuhu, designed and master-planned by Isthmus. On the site of a former golf course, adjacent to Aotearoa’s largest hospital, Middlemore, the Hospital Road Apartments will provide homes for kaumātua, kuia and whānau with disabilities. “In developing this housing, Te Whānau o Waipareira aims to provide affordable rental housing with easy access to community, cultural and healthcare facilities,” says project lead Andrew Mirams. “Included in the design are a whare manaaki (inclusive community space) designed by TOA Architects, communal gardens and an early childhood education centre.” Facilitated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing programme, the 124-apartment project is arranged across two buildings, the larger of which rises from six to eight…

AS A CHILD, I GREW UP AROUND SCIENCE labs. My mother was a research scientist at one of our country’s science institutes and, under more relaxed health-and-safety regimes, I would often spend time in her labs during school holidays and for the odd sick day. From this early exposure, I absorbed that science was something slow, methodical and, as technology continues to advance, increasingly minute, while its architecture was generally cellular and sterile. When Joseph Hampton, Warren and Mahoney’s project lead for Waimarie, described one of the client drivers as ‘science on display’, my interest was piqued. Dating back to 1878, Lincoln University is the oldest agricultural teaching institute in the Southern Hemisphere. Located in Christchurch’s satellite town of Lincoln, the campus’ park-like setting of established, deciduous trees speaks to its…

PUBLIC HOUSING – MULTI UNIT “The design sets a new standard for modern wharekai, meeting the weight of history and lofty aspirations of the future, fulfilling its own role with style and without dominating the surrounding whare.”04 Ko Tamawāhine Boon HOUSING SMALL PROJECT “Wrapped and protected within an enclosed courtyard, the original pool gate house and entry conceal the suburban oasis of green within. Working hard to the site’s edges, this family home retains remnants of its aquatic past, which bring a smile to one’s face.”07 Gonville Pool House Patchwork Architecture…

PUBLIC HOUSING “Built on a low budget for a home designed to passive house principles, the outcome… should be seen as an exemplar for what could and should be our future — designing and building to passive house standards and applying these principles to mass development.” 03 Two Gables First Light Studio COMMERCIAL SMALL PROJECT “Scaled to sit comfortably on a busy road within a residential setting, the building’s main façade is adorned with Haumanu, a work by artist Robin Slow that connects the building to place and whenua.”07 Nelson Orthodontics Richmond Practice redbox architects…

COMMERCIAL EDUCATION HERITAGE “Considerable investment has ensured the top-to-toe strengthening and restoration of derelict farm buildings, which were built more than 150 years ago… [giving the buildings] a life that the original inhabitants could surely never have imagined.”05 Ayrburn SA Studio HOSPITALITY INTERIOR PUBLIC ENDURING “A tight plan houses a beautifully eclectic interior. The sunken lounge – the nucleus of the home – sets up diagonal vignettes to the kitchen, entry and external garden. Cosy nooks, shelving and window seats invite inhabitation.”10 Verdant House Pac Studio and Steven Lloyd Architecture in association HOUSING “Based on a plan from ancient Rome, this is a sophisticated version of the courtyard house, albeit without a peristyle colonnade around a central atrium. Two forms, one 10 years older than the other, face off across…

Our Asymmetric City 12 – 16 June 2024 Old Folks Association Hall, Auckland I believe there is occasionally a fear of architects. We lord it over our little nation from our ivory towers. Accusations of cynicism notwithstanding, this is what people must think as we overwhelm them with sausage flats and glass boxes, then pat our own backs. I am parroting Gerald Melling’s concerns of the mid-1980s: that our ‘urban porridge’ is evolving into an ‘oatless’ one.1 It is good to see, then, that schools are feeding future architects plenty of oats. This is exactly what I think Our Asymmetric City reflected. The week-long exhibition ran at the Henry Kulka-designed Auckland Old Folks Association (OFA) building off Karangahape Road, showing work from 16 students in Andrew Douglas and Jack Wu’s…