Auckland City Mission's new HomeGround, a striking new Mansons TCLM Fanshawe St office block and many homes won regional architecture awards tonight.
Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects announced 41 prizes for new and refurbished Auckland area education, hospitality, commercial, heritage, public, residential and multi-unit buildings, as well as interior, planning, urban design and colour awards.
Jury convenor Belinda George said four projects stood out: HomeGround by Stevens Lawson Architects, Herbst Architects' Rangiputa bach and Matapouri beach house and a villa addition by Jack McKinney Architects.
The main commercial award went to Te Aukati, designed by FORMiS and developed by Mansons TCLM at 136 Fanshawe St. Fidelity Life, law firm MC, 2degrees and Lion are tenants in the twin-campus block beside Spark. It spans the block between Fanshawe St and Harding St.
"Cognisant of the historical and cultural significance of its location, the project balances expansive spaces and atriums with subtly broken-down external volumes to deliver a building at once bold yet topographically and contextually sensitive," the judges said of the new offices.
The awards are sponsored by Resene and APL Window solutions.
HomeGround is the new multi-storey Auckland City Mission on Hobson St. The judges said it demonstrated a fundraising acumen and careful spending that would deliver over time, remaking lives and revitalising that part of the city.
The stylish Rangiputa bach. Photo / Jackie Meiriing
Herbst Architects won for a new bach on the Karikari Peninsula, on the edge of a steep drop to Rangiputu Bay. "Despite its striking simplicity - a screened box set above a glazed enclosure - the bach builds in a nuanced range of spatial connections and adjustable elements," the judges said.
The same architects won another residential award for a new Matapouri Beach house on the Tutukaka Coast, north of Auckland. "This three-bedroom immaculately detailed house dynamically reworks a site without a large view or immediate privacy."
The Matapouri beach house. Photo / Jackie Meiring
Jack McKinney Architects won for an addition to an 1890s villa, which judges said "allows for a contemporary architectural approach to sit sympathetically against the home, while also replacing a garden lost to the addition. Pavilion-like with a glazed envelope draped by the addition beautifully plays with voids and solids building in distinct coffered ceilings that in turn provide an irregular 'topography' for the garden above".
Education awards went to the new Paerata School by ASC Architects, Diocesan Arts Centre by Upton Architects in association with McIldowie Partners, and Manurewa High School's business hub by RTA Studio.
Sunderland Terrace at Hobsonville Point. Photo / Mike Smith
Stevens Lawson Architects won a multi-unit award for the residential Sunderland Terrace at Hobsonville Point. "The development offers a series of subtly composed and aesthetically rewarding formal responses cleverly balancing variety, continuity, and disciplined co-ordination. Pared back where possible, yet offering up-close richness in places, the terrace houses similarly balance unit privacy with the pleasures of neighbourly awareness," the judges said.
TOA Architects won in the same category for Kōtukutuku Kāinga at Ōtara. The units' design was inspired by narratives of the great ancestor Taramainuku, the Manukau Harbour and two waka, the judges said.
"The two waka tau ihu or prow carvings are here detached and grounded to become pou forming a gateway anchoring the frontage and place. A whare manaaki and community garden sit alongside, steadying the waka, while offering a trusted meeting space and broader social facilities for inhabitants and the community. This project rises to the challenge of securing a place for a community sector more accustomed to disparity," the judges said.
Kotukutuku Kainga. Photo / Damien Nikora
Jasmax won an interior award for the workplace fit-out of the new MC offices in the block at 136 Fanshawe St, which also won a commercial award.
"This innovative workplace interior, split across multiple floors, centres on a principal atrium within the Te Aukati Building," the judges said. An expansive indoor terrarium, the central atrium with city views, and the connection to a lower floor were all praised.
"Stitched together by bridges and stairs, occupiable balconies and social spaces, this fit-out beautifully calibrates flexible and fixed-use environments to the tasks making up legal practice," the judges said of Jasmax's work.
Warren & Mahoney won an interior award for Colliers' head office in the HSBC Tower, 188 Quay St. The architects were praised for creating "a spatial play which produces a bespoke occupation countering the standard open plan commercial offices".
The same architects won another interior award for designing law firm Buddle Findlay's new offices, also in the HSBC Tower, creating "a thoughtful revitalisation of legal office culture inspired by a workplace strategy investigation emphasising authenticity and warmth".
Bossley Architects, in association with r + d, won a hospitality award for the new waterfront Park Hyatt Hotel Auckland, which the judges said had a façade infilled with variable filtering screens and setbacks. "This controlled metal mesh façade and large white balconies hide the individual accommodation units and allow the building to be read at the scale of the waterfront." It was skilfully layered and encased a richly expansive interior for the high-end hotel.
Elisapeta Heta of Jasmax got the president's award for her influence as a cultural leader in indigenous design in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.
All 41 Auckland area projects are now eligible for national awards.
