Rotorua house wins at New Zealand Architecture Awards

The Turama house was recognised at the awards. Photo / Supplied

A Rotorua house designed by an Auckland architect has been recognised at the 2018 New Zealand Architecture Awards.

The year's best architecture was celebrated at a dinner at Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington last night.

Turama, designed by RTA Studio, was recognised in the housing category of the awards.

The house shows how connections can be made not just with the surrounding environment but to whānau and genealogy.

The judges said the house, at the foot of Mt Ngongotahā was "innovative and intriguing".

"[It] is deeply rooted in the whakapapa of the family that occupies it and responsive to the landscape beyond the footprint of the site.

The Turama house was recognised at the awards. Photo / Supplied

"[It is an] intriguing and innovative exercise in fusion architecture that blends house and whare and family dwelling and whānau retreat.

"The house makes its stand in Rotorua suburbia, amid a cluster of state houses, on land that has been in the client's family for many generations."

On the RTA website it said Turama means "to light with a torch", or "to give light to".

"In this sense the intention is for this house and what it represents to be a beacon for the whānau and community."

Seventeen projects ranging in scale from an Auckland transit development and a Christchurch government precinct to a Hamilton urban park and a Nelson bach were recognised in the awards.

Winning projects
John Scott Award for Public Architecture
St Andrew's College Centennial Chapel by Architectus
Ted McCoy Award for Education
Cathedral Grammar Junior School by Andrew Barrie Lab and Tezuka Architects
Sir Miles Warren Award for Commercial Architecture
Mezz Box by Edwards White Architects
Sir Ian Athfield Award for Housing
Kawakawa House by Herbst Architects
Commercial Architecture
- 119 Great North Road by Warren and Mahoney Architects
- Mezz Box by Edwards White Architects
Education
- Cathedral Grammar Junior School by Andrew Barrie Lab and Tezuka Architects
- The University of Auckland Science Centre by Architectus
Hospitality
- Amano by McKinney + Windeatt Architects
Housing
- Kawakawa House by Herbst Architects
- Rawene House by Stevens Lawson Architects
- Turama by RTA Studio
Housing – Alterations and Additions
- Bach with Two Roofs by Irving Smith Jack Architects
Interior Architecture
- Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct by Warren and Mahoney Architects, Opus Architects and Cox Architecture
Planning and Urban Design
- Victoria on the River by Edwards White Architects and AECOM New Zealand in association
- Vinegar Lane by Isthmus Group
- The Waterview Connection by Warren and Mahoney Architects and the Well-Connected Alliance
Public Architecture
- St Andrew's College Centennial Chapel Te Kāretio Hāto Ānaru Te Kotahi Rau Tau o te Whare Karakia by Architectus
- Trafalgar Centre by Irving Smith Jack Architects
Small Project Architecture
- River Retreat by Edwards White Architects
Enduring Architecture
- Heke Street House (1988) by Mitchell & Stout Architects