Generational House - Studio2 Architects, Mt Maunganui. Photo / Supplied
Twenty-four projects have received awards in the 2020 Waikato/Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards.
Demonstrating the range of work by architects in the region, the winners included Tauranga Airport and Zespri headquarters, a university and early childhood centre, a restored chapel and houses in a variety of rural, urban and suburban settings.
Awards jury convener and Tauranga architect John Henderson said the jury, which included architects Sharon Jansen, Fraser Cameron, and Tauranga Art Gallery director Alice Hutchinson, visited an excellent group of shortlisted projects of very different scale.
"We were encouraged by a growing emphasis on building quality," Henderson said.
"It was great to visit warm, healthy buildings that embody the best of sustainable design practices."
In the commercial category, Jasmax was acknowledged for the additions to Tauranga Airport which have "created a strong new identity for the region's air travel gateway".
In the same category, Warren and Mahoney Architects and Architecture Page Henderson designed a lively Mt Maunganui workplace for Zespri in a building that is "a signature presence between the utilitarian port and residential areas of Tauranga".
Image 1 of 24: Generational House - Studio2 Architects, Mt Maunganui
Warren and Mahoney Architects received another award in the commercial category for Tauranga Crossing which the jury said "is not just another mall, but a compelling example of what modern, multi-shop experiences can be".
Edwards White Architects received two commercial category awards, one for Foster Group Headquarters in Hamilton, "a building that displays an uncommon concern for quality and design detail in an industrial context", and the other for Riverbank Chambers, also in Hamilton.
"This elegant, top-floor fit-out provides broad views over the river and city, creating a very desirable workplace," the awards jury said.
Two projects won awards in the education category.
The buildings at the University of Waikato Tauranga CBD Campus, designed by Jasmax, have "a great sense of connectivity to place and have established a strong living presence in the city", the jury said.
At the other end of the education spectrum, The Lakes Early Childhood Education Centre in Tauranga, designed by Copeland Associates, is "a progressive and very human solution to an institutional brief".
One award was made in the heritage category to St Mary's Convent Chapel in Hamilton, a 1926 building that has been renovated by PAUA Architects.
"It is heartening to see our built heritage retained and restored with such care," the jury said.
Fourteen awards were made in the most highly populated category of Housing.
TOA Architects won an award for Maungārongo, a "compact contemporary whare" in Tauranga that is "a deeply personal domestic space, steeped in meaning and informed by whakapapa".
Just down the coast, the Papamoa Beach house by Herbst Architects brings a Japanese aesthetic to the Kiwi beach experience. "The veil walls and entry court resemble modern shoji that alternate between screen and lantern," the jury said
Generational House by Studio2 Architects is a "carefully detailed and skilfully realised" suburban home, and Two Six Splay House by Architecture Bureau "creates a journey from the busy public realm of the street through relaxed family spaces to the unexpected breadth of a park outlook".
Five housing category award winners in the Coromandel included The Hill House at Hahei, designed by Felicity Wallace architects, described as a contemporary pole house that is "playful and surprising – part fort and part tramper's hut".
Hot Water Beach House by Scarlet Architects is a house "successfully organised around a triangular courtyard flanked by verandas and a central breezeway and intended to ensure flexible multi-generational occupancy".
With Hikuai Hill House, Dorringon Atcheson Architects have made "excellent use of a spectacular site" to produce a home that is "a compact and faithful expression of the clients' ideals", the jury said.
Near Waihi Beach, the Bowentown Bach designed by Edwards White Architects presents a weathered shell to the street, but inside "a warm, honeyed living space looks out to the dunes and sea".
Edwards White Architects also won an award for their Kinloch Bach which the jury said takes "a stripped-back approach to contemporary bach comforts and conventions" while providing warm social spaces.
Two awards were made in the Small Project Architecture category. The jury said Ao Marama Retreat near Katikati, designed by OPL and Mitchell Stout Dodd Architects, is "a truly rustic retreat that invokes the collective Kiwi memory of remote huts and simple comfort".
Chemis Cabin, Rotorua, by DCA Architects of Transformation is a highly compact little building that is "nestled unobtrusively into a lush native bush environment".
The 2020 Waikato / Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards is a programme of Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects, supported by Resene.
FULL AWARD WINNERS:
Commercial: - Tauranga Airport - Jasmax - Riverbank Chambers, Hamilton - Edwards White Architects - Zespri, Mt Maunganui - Warren and Mahoney Architects and Architecture Page Henderson in association. - Tauranga Crossing - Warren and Mahoney Architects - Foster Group Headquarters, Hamilton - Edwards White Architects
Education: - University of Waikato Tauranga CBD Campus - Jasmax - The Lakes Early Childhood Education Centre, Tauranga - Copeland Associates Architects
Heritage: - St Mary's, Hamilton - PAUA Architects
Housing: - Maungārongo, Tauranga - TOA Architects - Generational House - Studio2 Architects, Mt Maunganui - Hill House at Hahei - Felicity Wallace Architects - Three Gables, Hamilton - Edwards White Architects - Hot Water Beach House - Scarlet Architects - Aspin Road House, Cambridge - Studio of Pacific Architecture - Thornton Road Passive House - Architype, Cambridge - Papamoa Beach House - Herbst Architects - Bowentown Bach, Waihi - Edwards White Architects - Kinloch Bach - Edwards White Architects - Robertson Residence, Hamilton - PAUA Architects - Two Six Splay House, Mt Maunganui - Architecture Bureau - Hikuai Hill House - Dorrington Atcheson Architects - Light Mine, Kuaotunu Coast - Crosson Architects
Small Project Architecture: - Ao Marama Retreat, Katikati - OPL and Mitchell Stout Dodd Architects in association - Chemis Cabin, Rotorua - DCA Architects of Transformation