The humble Kiwi bach has been architecturally reinvented - and the result is a supreme design award winner.
"The Family Bach", by Cymon Allfrey, of Cymon Allfrey Architects, has been named supreme winner of the Architectural Designers New Zealand | Resene Architectural Design Awards.
The ADNZ Supreme Award is one of the most coveted architectural awards in the country.
The most recent award is just one in a long list of awards the relaxed tent-like structure in Hanmer Springs has won.
The Family Bach gained recognition at five architecture awards events in 2018 - making it one of the most recognised designs in the country ever.
As well as a national award at the 2018 NZ Wood Resene Timber Design Awards, it made the 2018 Home of the Year shortlist, received a Commended in the Dulux Colour 2018 Awards and has been shortlisted in the 2018 New Zealand Architecture Awards.
Judges were impressed by the striking design of "The Family Bach", which features three different buildings that surround a recessed patio and timber deck that creates a "campsite".
The two larger spaces have tilted walls and corresponding roof planes that add to the idea these could be tents, one for the kids and one for the parents.
The smaller structure is a tower which could be viewed as an up-scale "outhouse". It contains a sleepout joined to the patio with a crafted staircase.
Views across the Hanmer plains, all-day sun and protection from prevailing winds make the spaces perfect for playing outdoors and hosting summer BBQs.
Even the odd spot of rain is welcomed, as the sound of it hits metal cladding and runs into on-ground dispersal devices.
Judge, Mitchell Coll, of Coll Architecture, said The Family Bach was a "fun design, not only in its aesthetic but also the way it encourages play."
"Cymon has incorporated many playful design elements that make this bach special, whether it is the campsite feeling the bach inspires or the fun details, like the handrail that extends out to become a swing.
"Architecture doesn't need to be boring, it should be art."
Coll said the success of the home was in demonstrating that designs could be fun, that natural materials added warmth and there was nothing wrong with standing out.
"People who are absolutely fixed on what they want from a design, limit a designer's creativity," Coll said.
"Cymon Allfrey designed and built The Family Bach as a holiday home for his family.
"This meant he approached the design free from constraints."
Coll urged designers to take Allfrey's lead and stand out.
"Good design done well is going to appeal to people, but be yourself and don't worry about the next person.
"You are better to have just 10 per cent of people who absolutely fall head over heels for your home, than 100 per cent who think it's just nice."
Architectural Designers New Zealand CEO Astrid Andersen said the win was well deserved and if anyone should be celebrated for their contribution to New Zealand architecture it should be Allfrey.
In addition to Allfrey's supreme award, Architectural Designers New Zealand awarded eight other projects throughout New Zealand.
The commercial interior architectural design award went to Mark McLeay, Creative Arch for Nixon Studio, in Grey Lynn.
Judges said the building nestled in the trees on its city fringe site had an inviting interior which met the brief of a community facility in a straightforward and uncomplicated manner.
The other winners were "Chain Mail" in Mt Maunganui by Adam Taylor Architecture, "Wooden Origami House" in Tauranga by Will Tatton Architecture, "Glandovey Home" in Christchurch by Cymon Allfrey Architects Ltd, "Latimer" in Christchurch by Krush Architecture, "Redcliffs Village Library" in Christchurch by Young Architects, "Kotahi Ave" in Hamilton by LAD Architecture and "A Cabin & Trees" in Waikato by Red Architecture.
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