KEY POINTS:
Growing up in Palmerston North stirred Julie Stout's interest in architecture.
"The lack of beautiful building used to depress me mightily," she said.
"When I moved to Auckland it was such a delight. I took pleasure in the little lanes, the old buildings and the harbour and beaches."
These old buildings then became the focus of Ms Stout's life. She worked with the Architecture Association and partner David Mitchell to protect historic buildings such as the Tepid Baths and the old Salvation Army hall.
"It's difficult working in a developer's environment. You have to act to get the financial and architectural sides together - we dub it 'value management'."
They were then living in the Courtville Apartments, and there were only about 500 people living in the CBD.
"It was hard to get the energy going," she said. "It's getting much better now. People want to inhabit the space and there is so much potential that can be fleshed out."
After "fighting the destruction" of the 1980s, Mitchell and Stout took the 1990s off, sailing a Lidgard 36 around the world, finally selling it in Turkey.
They returned back home on request from Alan and Jenny Gibbs, to design the New Gallery.
At the time, the old four-storey telephone exchange building was a mess and full of pigeons.
Ms Stout created a new corner entry opening the building to Wellesley St and overhanging balconies so visitors could look out to the square below. The light-shaft in the entry was divided into compartments and meant different exhibitions could be displayed under a range of conditions.
"It's amazing watching this thing that you're creating out of your head turn into this huge three-dimensional building.
"It's like having a giant baby that you have to give away."
Julie Stout is currently working on an art gallery in Tauranga due to be opened this year, and her own new house at Narrow Neck beach on Auckland's North Shore.
She used to chair the Institute of Architects' Urban Issues group, but has now passed the post over to fellow architect Graeme Scott, so she can work on the Urban Design Task force.
"It would be great to see more east-west landscaped corridors, so people could walk across the city without running through a gauntlet of cars."
