11 minute read
Architecture awards
Spring Creek Revisited by Modo Architects. Simon Devitt
Local Architecture Awards 2022
Words: Amy Russ
Honouring the best architecture produced in the country, the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) has revealed 12 winners in their local awards for the Nelson and Marlborough regions, including one Enduring Architecture award. Established in 1905, NZIA were gifted a new name in 2019, and represent more than 90 per cent of all registered architects throughout the country.
Promoting and celebrating outstanding architecture and creating greater awareness of the values and benefits well-designed buildings and public spaces can bring to cities and towns, the NZIA represents over four thousand members. The awards provide a platform for celebrating some of the most innovative and inspiring designs in the country. The architectural practices behind a thoughtful bach restoration, a series of space-enhancing classrooms, an innovative office block and a cabin deep in the bush have all scooped awards at a celebration of Nelson and Marlborough’s best architecture, held at Brancott Estate Heritage Centre in Blenheim on July 29. This year a total of 12 projects received a prestigious Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Architecture Award across seven award categories, three of which also received a Resene Colour Award. Nelson and Marlborough jury convenor, Jarrod Midgley of Rural Workshop Architecture, said there were some clear standouts among the entries that blended into the scenic surroundings of the Nelson and Marlborough districts. “All of the jury members were deeply impressed by the calibre of entries this year. Nelson and Marlborough are both scenic and tranquil areas of New Zealand, and the winning entries were humble and respectful buildings that highlighted the area’s natural beauty.” The five-person jury visited 15 shortlisted projects before selecting the 12 winners. Modo Architects, The Cliffs House, won the Housing Award for the event. Taking in uninterrupted views across Tasman Bay, judges say the combination of aesthetic and technical performance was very well balanced. “Sun and sea glare are cleverly conditioned by external sliding screens and overhangs, while the rear deck and garden offer a sheltered contrast to prevailing winds and open sea views.”
Adding to their repertoire, Modo Architects also took out a prize for Housing Alterations and Additions with Spring Creek Revisited – with the architects enhancing a much-loved 12-year-old home in a seamless manner making it a space to be enjoyed whatever the season.
Athfield Architects won the Housing award, and Resene Colour Award, for perfect choice of colours and materials with their entry, ‘Pūponga Bach’. Set in a remote corner of Golden Bay the bach’s elevated linear form stretches away into the tree canopy and a camping deck beneath, while a sequence of open spaces shapes the arrival experience and connects the upper level with a range of living spaces, inside and out.
Arthouse Architects was named a winner of the Housing Alterations and Additions Award, and the Resene Colour Award for ‘restrained and subtle use of colour’, with Wakefield Quay Apartment. Judges noted it was a refined example of architecture that is made by taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Arthouse Architects was also named the winner of Public Architecture with their Marlborough District Council upgrade of its public toilet facilities. The architects managed to upgrade three separate facilities in a way that was consistent yet unique in their individual response to each site’s context and history. Jerram Tocker Barron Architects won the Small Projects Architecture with their submission of Honeymoon Bay Bach. Nestled in a deeply-shaded, pocket handkerchief of a site, and backed by a cliff, the project required a brave design approach. Judges say by cleverly stretching the envelope vertically, the architect has assigned the entire ground footprint to living and decking and squeezed two bedrooms and ablutions above, making the intimate, simple and well-resolved bach feel surprisingly spacious. Johnstone Callaghan Architects also won an award for Small Project Architecture with their entry, The Cabin. The durable, low-maintenance little gem offered a surprise at every turn, say judges. “Designed and assembled with love and great care, one cannot help but enjoy this earthy, honest, uplifting, and spiritual building.” Irving Smith Architects were named winners of the Commercial Architecture Award with WallÉ - a building bordered by low-level commercial developments. “In a design masterstroke, valuable floor space at the mid and upper level is sacrificed to open the studio office to a continuous recessed, north-facing veranda, supplemented by a generous terrace at the rear.”
KLT Architects won the Commercial Architecture section with Fairfield Office Low Energy Certified, with judges saying the client brief was not just the gold standard of thermal efficiency, but a holistic approach to all aspects of sustainability in building. “The project has sustainability as its core design motive, from the minimisation of construction waste to the reuse of recycled materials, and clearly houses Fairfield’s own environmental ethos.”
Arthouse Architects and Sheppard & Rout Architects combined forces to produce their winner in the Education and Resene Colour Award sections with Waimea College’s New Teaching Blocks. “This project is a clear reminder of how architects add value when working as part of a unified and supportive team. A more sustainable, basic, truly lovely, warm, acoustically-inviting school room, multiplied. A repeatable form that we hope will become the new standard for school buildings.” Peter Bevan Architect was named the winner of Enduring Architecture with their entry, Blenheim House. Sitting proudly and timelessly in the Marlborough landscape, judges say Blenheim House remains true to its original intent in both design and materiality. “Referencing its dramatic and contrasting surrounds - the dry, narrow plain in which it sits, the intense green of the bush-covered hills to its north, and the pale-coloured hills to the south - means the visual effect of this home remains as striking today as it did when first built.”
THIS YEARS MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
COMMERCIAL WallÉ by Irving Smith Architects. Fairfield Office Low Energy Certified by KLT Architects.
EDUCATION Waimea College New Teaching Blocks by Arthouse Architects and Sheppard & Rout Architects.
ENDURING ARCHITECTURE Blenheim House (1989) by Peter Beaven – Architect. HOUSING Pūponga Bach by Athfield Architects. The Cliffs House by Modo Architects. HOUSING – ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS Wakefield Quay Apartment by Arthouse Architects.
Faith & Doubt by Crosson Architects. Spring Creek Revisited by Modo Architects.
PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE Marlborough District Council – Public Toilet Upgrades by Arthouse Architects.
SMALL PROJECT ARCHITECTURE Honeymoon Bay Bach by Jerram Tocker Barron Architects.
The Cabin by Johnstone Callaghan Architects.
Honeymoon Bay Bach
BY JERRAM TOCKER BARRON ARCHITECTS
Jason Mann
Nestled in an idyllic bay, surrounded by lush native bush, lies the award-winning Honeymoon Bay Bach, cleverly designed by the local team at JTB Architects. Earning the award for Small Project Architecture at the recent NZIA Nelson Marlborough 2022 Awards, the architects worked within a compressed footprint of a previously existing bach. The owners say they are grateful they followed their architect’s advice of creating a complete rebuild. “This is our happy place. We are very pleased with the advice of our architect, Simon Hall.” The citation reads, ‘The deeply-shaded pocket site, backed by a cliff and subject to local resident committee approval, required a brave design approach. By cleverly stretching the envelope vertically, the architect has assigned the entire ground footprint to living and decking and squeezed two bedrooms and ablutions above. A cleverly cropped-back main bedroom floor allows the sun to flood into the living room beneath, making the intimate, simple and well-resolved bach feel surprisingly spacious.’ “It is elegantly simple,” says Simon, who was the lead architect. “This project is a great example of how good design of a compact building can feel deceptively spacious. There is extensive use of whitewash timber incorporated throughout the inside, with double height glazing to the east and a mezzanine master bedroom elevated above. Large over-the-wall triple stacker doors allow the deck to
become an extension of the living area, perfect for those summer days.” Working with and understanding the constraints and opportunities of the site, the architects have created a small, efficient, and easy-care bach that maximises its outdoor space. Simon says the client chose low maintenance materials for the roofing and cladding, providing a clean aesthetic and natural lighting throughout. “The roof pitch responds to, and follows, the topography of the land nestling the building into the hillside. The dark simple corrugate cladding allows the building to recede into the shadows and bush backdrop. Skylights allow light to penetrate the building from above. The mezzanine allows for views to the sea from above, while small, punctuated windows on the eastern side provide privacy within and also to the surrounding community. It is a case of simple done well. Inspiration was drawn from the site, creating a building which nestled into the hill side that was metal clad to reflect that of the existing metal clad building which it replaced, and a fresh timber interior like you had just cut though the trunk of a tree.” Listening to clients’ needs is key to the company’s resounding success, says Simon. “And creating a conversation whereby you can understand them, but then take them beyond their imagination to deliver something which is truly special to them and enhances their way of living and fitting in the sense of place and surrounds. We offer a boutique local architecture service with a national presence and expertise. As far as we are aware, we are the only mid-sized architecture practice to have presence throughout New Zealand.” Receiving the award is hugely gratifying for the talented team who put one hundred percent into all of their projects. “It is a great acknowledgement from our peers, which our team finds deeply satisfying for all the work and effort they put into the project.” Having worked with the client and builders previously gave JTB Architects a great advantage for the success of the project. “We were lucky enough to have had a good understanding and trusting relationship, which we knew the builder would be able to deliver to the highest of standards and executed well.”
Simon Devitt
The Cliffs House
BY MODO ARCHITECTS
Inspired by Japanese architecture and functional simplicity, The Cliffs House by Brendon Monk from Modo Architects, wowed judges at the 2022 Nelson Marlborough Architecture Awards. Putting himself in his client’s shoes, Brendon spends time really getting a feel for how his design would ‘sit’ within its space. “I like to let it ‘sleep’ in my head for a while, look at the site, listen to the client’s needs and go over any technical requirements and factors prior to creating any concept plans. From there, ideas form and I can present it to the client. That’s where the trust is built.” Brendon’s approach pays off with the multi-award-winning architect adding two more awards to his growing list. But ever humble, he says he enters the awards for his clients, not himself. “It is nice to have recognition from my peers, but the clients and the builders put a lot of money, time, and risk into the builds, and it is nice for them to get that recognition for their work.” Set on a dramatic clifftop, the house seems to project out over the sea performing a combination of both technical and aesthetic balance. “Great care and pride has been taken by the contractor in delivering a house of outstanding craftsmanship,” says judges. “A bend in axis varies the view focus, with the living space and deck facing toward Haulashore Island to the north and Tāhunanui Beach to the west. Sun and sea glare are cleverly conditioned by external sliding screens and overhangs, while the rear deck and garden offer a sheltered contrast to prevailing winds and open sea views.”
Producing buildings of poetic beauty and place, Brendon starts every project with a simple goal of wanting to be better than the last. “I want to do more than just meet their expectations; I should be able to knock their socks off! The designs must be very aesthetically pleasing but also totally functional. When you have a stunning site such as The Cliffs House, you have to design something amazing otherwise you will be doing it a disservice.” Taking a leaf out of designer Philippe Starcks book, Brendon ensures every project functions flawlessly. “It has to work perfectly, be energy efficient, come within budget – do everything that it needs to do – but also look cool.” Looking elegantly simple, the design of the home is extremely complex with a cantilever twist to make the most of views and sun angles. Bespoke sunshades mirror the forms of the jagged rocks below, every cavity of wall space is used to maximise insulation cooling the home in summer and heating in winter. “There is a synergy in the build, the balance between the two main materials, wood and metal, and the contrast of the forms give it a sculptural element, but it is also extremely functional, energy efficient and private”
