29 May 2013 — The adaptive re-use of older buildings was a strong theme in the New Zealand Architecture Awards, announced on May 24.
The New Zealand Architecture Medal, which is awarded to the most outstanding of the New Zealand Architecture Award winners, was presented to The Imperial Buildings, a group of heritage buildings on Auckland’s Queen Street which have been restored and revived by Fearon Hay Architects.
Awards jury convenor and Auckland architect Andrew Barclay said “the conversion of older buildings to new purposes may be a symptom of current economic circumstances, but it also signals a greater awareness of the worth of existing buildings, and of the possibilities they offer to imaginative clients and architects”.
Mr Barclay also said some of the projects the jury enjoyed most “used very little, very well”.
Projects promoting sustainable values and enhancing the civic realm also featured.
Patterson Architects’ six-star Green Star Geyser building in Parnell, Auckland, received awards in both the commercial and sustainable categories, and Athfield Architects’ Te Hononga-Christchurch Civic Building, a six-star -Green Star reworking of a sound but formerly undistinguished building, was also twice-awarded, in the public architecture and sustainable categories.
Sustainability
Te Hononga – Christchurch Civic Building by Athfield Architects Ltd
“Te Hononga – Christchurch Civic Building is an impressive exercise in adaptive re-use and, given Christchurch’s recent circumstances, an especially appropriate and timely exemplar of its genre. Not only does the building substantially occupy an existing structure, thus saving energy embodied in the original construction, it also benefits from the architects’ determination – recognised by the award of a six star Green Star (Built) rating – to reduce operating energy to a minimum. With its innovative and robust technology, its imaginative reworking of interior spaces, and its safe and solid public presence, the building declares the city’s faith in Christchurch’s sustainability,” the judges found.
Geyser, Parnell, Auckland, by Patterson Associates Ltd
“As the recipient of New Zealand’s only six star Green Star (Design) rating, Geyser significantly advances the cause of sustainable architecture. Passive environmental design principles and computer-controlled systems combine to provide pleasant and comfortable working and circulation spaces. Natural daylight is admitted deep into the interior, and a twin-wall façade generates natural heating, by trapping warm air, and cooling ventilation, via convection currents. A manually operated inner façade allows tenants some discretion in controlling their own working environments,” the judges found.
New Zealand Architecture Medal
The Imperial Buildings, Auckland, by Fearon Hay Architects
Commercial
Cloudy Bay Shack, Blenheim, by Paul Rolfe Architects and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects
Geyser, Parnell, Auckland, by Patterson Associates Ltd
Telecom Central, Wellington, by architecture+
Education
St Cuthbert’s College Performing Arts Centre, Epsom, Auckland, by Architectus
Enduring Architecture
School of Music, University of Auckland, by Hill Manning Mitchell
Heritage
The Imperial Buildings, Auckland, by Fearon Hay Architects
Housing
Lake Hawea Courtyard House, by Glamuzina Paterson Architects
Regent Park Apartments for City Housing WCC, by Designgroup Stapleton Elliott
S House, Mt Eden, Auckland, by Glamuzina Paterson Architects
Waiake Beach House, Torbay, Auckland, by Stevens Lawson Architects Ltd
International Architecture
Solar Decathlon 2011: First Light House, by Victoria University of Wellington, Faculty of Architecture and Design
Planning and Urban Design
Karanga Plaza and Kiosk, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland, by Architectus
Re:START, Christchurch, by The Buchan Group
Public Architecture
ASB Sports Centre, Kilbirnie, Wellington, by Tennent + Brown Architects & SKM Architects in association
Te Hononga – Christchurch Civic Building by Athfield Architects Limited
Rotoroa Shelter & Exhibition Centre, Rotoroa Island, Auckland, by Pearson & Associates Architects Ltd
Whakatane Library & Exhibition Centre – Te K?putu a Te Whanga a Toi, by Irving Smith Jack Architects Ltd
Small Project Architecture
Hut on Sleds, Whangapoua, Coromandel Peninsula, by Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects (Auckland) Ltd
Wellington Zoo Hub & Kamalas Pavilion, by Assembly Architects Limited
See our story: Shopping precinct in Christchurch wins NZ architecture award