Forty-four projects have received awards in the 2020 Auckland Architecture Awards, a peer-reviewed awards programme run by Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA).

The award-winning projects demonstrate the extraordinary breadth of work undertaken by architects in the Auckland Branch of the NZIA, which extends from the city to the Far North of the country.

Winners included a new airport building in Kerikeri and a converted seaplane hangar at Hobsonville, warehouses and a car dealership, a chapel and a fale, a library and a whole new secondary school, a cricket club pavilion and a hut on Raoul Island, half a dozen multi-unit housing projects, and more than 20 individual houses.

The Awards jury convenor, Jane Aimer, who was joined on the judging panel by fellow Auckland jurors Nicholas Dalton and Eva Nash, Wellington architect Stuart Gardyne and broadcaster Eric Young, praised the quailty of the work submitted in this year’s Awards programme.

“We were impressed and encouraged by the dedication and care taken by architects to create sustainable, healthy and beautiful buildings, fit for purpose and appropriate to their physical and cultural contexts,” Aimer said.

Five projects in the Awards’ Commercial Architecture category were recognised.

At Sutherland Hangar at Catalina Bay, Hobsonville, by Cheshire Architects and Ignite Architects, the jury said “the original structure has been lovingly restored and the building should serve as a popular hang-out for the locals and as a means of encouraging a sustainable and vibrant community.”

Fearon Hay Architects won awards for two Morningside warehouse projects. With Fabric Warehouse 2 the jury said, “a modern insertion into an existing building has transformed a street-front façade and produced a striking, light-filled office space.”

The same firm’s Ethel Street Warehouses, the jury said, has made “a silk purse from a sow’s ear – the architects saw the potential of a simple row of steel-trussed warehouses hiding behind a series of banal office sheds and have designed desirable tenancies for multiple uses.”

17 Landing Drive by JWA Architects, a multi-purpose commercial building near Auckland Airport, is “a bold, dynamic and sophisticated composition that reflects the scale and drama of the precinct’s landscape”, the jury said, and car dealership Botany Toyota, designed by Woodhams Meikle Zhan Architects, has “a light and delicate presence for a building of its size.”

Four projects won Awards in the Education category. At St. Paul’s College Marcellin Champagnat Building, Ponsonby, designed by Architectus, “robust materials and a restrained aesthetic imbue the building with a strong yet subdued presence that will allow it to sit well on the street and in the campus for years to come.”

The “joyfully coloured” Dilworth Junior Campus Sports Centre in Remuera, by GHDWoodhead creativespaces, squeezed between a motorway and the school’s rugby fields, “has a more playful presence than one might expect from this type of building,” the jury said.

The University of Auckland Faculty of Engineering / Te Herenga Mātai Pkaha B405, by Jasmax and Lab-works Architecture in association, is a “complex building that makes a point of celebrating its function and offers staff and students a highly adaptable and enjoyable facility.”

Western Springs College Ngā Puna O Waiōrea Redevelopment by Jasmax “involved a massive overhaul of a tired campus,” the jury said. “The school’s transformational results in both student attendance and academic achievement are testament to the quality of the new campus, and the pride it has engendered in students and the wider community.

Lucerne House in Remuera, by Godward Guthrie Architecture, is the sole winner in the Heritage category. The jury said that “in this thoughtful and well-considered restoration of a 1960 Vladimir Cacala house, impressive attention has been paid to detail in restoring original features and respecting the intentions of the original architect.”

The Hospitality category’s sole winner is Kind Café, Morningside, by Edwards White Architects, which the jury described as “a vibrant addition to a previously neglected suburb.”

Eleven awards were made in the Housing category.

#3, a Remuera house designed by Studio2 Architects, is “a thoroughly livable house that sits confidently in its secluded garden environment and perfectly balances habitation, craft and aesthetics.”

Bowden House on the Tutukaka coast is “an outstanding project” by Belinda George Architects and Mandeno Design in association, the jury said, and Parekura Bay House in Russell, designed by Bossley Architects is “a striking structure composed of pre-cast concrete frames, creating a rhythm that articulates the mass and gives a nod to the Brutalist tradition.”

Bowden House, Tutukaka Coast. Belinda George Architects and Mandeno Design in association. Photographs: Simon Devitt

Also in the Far North, Lovers Leap at Ohaewai, by Bull O’Sullivan Architecture, is “a simple and robust delight that is appropriately austere in its materiality and pragmatic in its intent – there are lots of areas to kick off the gumboots.”

Takatu Ridge House near Matakana, designed by D Ross Brown: Rosso Design is “a calm and very livable house that enjoys a beneficial relationship with the garden, the broader site and the wider landscape,” the jury said.

Taumata Beach House at Omaha, by Fearon Hay Architects, is “a relaxed, low-key beachside encampment that is a sophisticated project which is all the stronger for its avoidance of show,” they Awards jury said.

With Tutukaka House, the jury said, Herbst Architect “have delivered a well-considered and exquisitely crafted house by the sea, a home surrounded by pastoral land and pockets of native bush with a stunning view towards the Poor Knights Islands.”

Waiheke by Patterson Associates is “a dramatic form that stretches across a breath-taking site,” the jury said. “The grand sense of scale is designed to suit highly social clients.”

With Buckleton’s Boat Shed on the Tawharanui Peninsula, designed by RTA Studio, “the architect cleverly saw the potential of a challenging site,” the jury said. “The design is an antidote to the obsessively overworked beach-house.”

Reef House, Leigh, by SGA – Strachan Group Architects is holiday home for a mother and her three adult sons and their anticipated families. “The house is a series of carefully planned indoor and outdoor articulated rooms, each having well-placed windows to capture different vistas as well as offering wall space for the client’s extensive art collection,” the jury said.

Parnell House by Stevens Lawson Architects is “a finely crafted home that carefully uses concrete, black brick and cedar to provide drama and sculptural impact to the street façade.”

Five awards were made in the Housing – Alterations and Additions category.

Takapuna Alteration by Guy Tarrant Architects was originally a bungalow which then received a post-Modern make-over. Now, the jury said, “the house has been deftly taken in hand by Guy Tarrant.”

Poured Pleats is a villa alteration in Ponsonby by Jack McKinney Architects where, the jury said, “a double-gable form has been re-interpreted with striking effect to yield a dynamic renovation that sits in proportion to the house’s heritage neighbours.”

Sayes Studio received two awards in the Housing – Alterations and Additions category. Sawtooth Apartment, Parnell, is “a masterclass in the use of a simple plan and section to achieve extraordinary spatial complexity,” and Pete’s Place in Point Chevalier, is “tiny semi-detached Art Deco house that has been made into a grown-up dwelling which is a perfect example of the balancing of old and new architecture.”

Lean on Me by SGA – Strachan Group Architects is “a clever addition to a Mt Eden villa that provides light-filled, relaxed spaces for the clients’ family,” the jury said.

Six awards were made in the important Housing Multi-unit category.

At Grafton Hall at The University of Auckland, designed by Architectus, “students who were previously housed in a rather grim nine-storey tower are now dispersed around a series of low-rise blocks, set amid generous landscaped spaces and sheltered courtyards”.

132 Halsey, by Athfield Architects, is “an elegant expression of the Wynyard Quarter Masterplan which explores a range of apartment typologies to provide for a diverse group of residents.”

In Newton, urban renewal project SKHY, designed by Cheshire Architects, is “an ambitious conversion of an old mall post office and commercial tower into a modern industrial chic destination.”

With the Royal Oak Housing Community, Auckland, designed for the Salvation Army, by Designgroup Stapleton Elliott, “the architects have drawn on a body of social housing work to create thoroughly decent homes that exceed functional and aesthetic expectations for this housing type.”

Squeezed between a busy intersection and residential houses, Napier Lane Apartments in Takapuna, by JWA Architects, makes good use of a tight site, the jury said. “The apartment building sits harmoniously within its context, and privacy and outdoor spaces have been well handled to produce apartments that are a delight to inhabit.

The Grounds by Peddle Thorp is a Hobsonville apartment project that “stands out for its clarity of form, expert articulation of materials and elegantly realised interior and exterior spaces.”

The one winner in the Interior Architecture category is Private Office by Bureaux, “an impressive office fit-out that exhibits a keen attention to detail.”

Two awards were made in the Planning and Urban Design category.

Tāmaki Precinct Masterplan by Studio of Pacific Architecture is “an ambitious and comprehensive masterplan for the regeneration over the next 10-15 years of an area comprising three suburbs,” the jury said. “The adoption of a ‘people first’ approach is a welcome development in New Zealand urban planning.”

With Metlifecare Gulf Rise at Red Beach, Warren and Mahoney Architects have “challenged the stereotypical approach to the planning of retirement villages,” the jury said. “This deliberate and considered design allows for public and private space, generous walking tracks and, most gratifyingly, gardens producing edible crops.”

Four projects received awards in the Public Architecture category.

With Bay of Islands Airport, Kerikeri, Eclipse Architecture took a very challenging brief that sought to strike a balance between immediate needs and the anticipation of future growth. “The desire of architect and clients that the building should tell the stories of the local iwi is certainly worth celebrating,” the jury said. “If you have not visited this part of Aotearoa, this airport is now an ideal gateway.”

Hihiaua Cultural Centre, Whangārei, by Moller Architects, is “a cultural centre delivered after a comprehensive co-design process with the community,” the jury said. “Every centimetre of this centre is carefully designed and constructed.”

The Chapel of St. Peter at St Peter’s College, Newmarket, designed by Stevens Lawson Architects, is “a significant building, uplifting and inspirational,” the jury said. “The building is profoundly spiritual and will serve the school and its community for decades to come.”

Te Manawa Westgate Library and Multi-Purpose Facility by Warren and Mahoney Architects is “a confident, contemporary public building that expresses the understanding of client and architect of the building’s role in responding to urban conditions and meeting community needs.”

Finally, four awards were made in the category of Small Project Architecture.

In Context: RTA Studio Exhibition by Andrew Barrie Lab was “a carefully considered temporary installation at Objectspace Gallery precisely put together by a dedicated team,” the jury said.

Raoul Hut is a weather station designed, and installed, by Bull O’Sullivan Architecture on on remote Raoul Island in the Kermadecs. “Simple concrete footings, welded stainless superstructure and a stainless-steel skin will ensure this vital piece of weather monitoring equipment lasts for decades to come,” the jury said.

Te Auaunga Awa – Multicultural Fāle & Outdoor Classroom, Mt Roskill, by McCoy + Heine Architects, is “a homage to Tāmaki Makaurau as the capital of the Polynesian world,” the jury said. “The project is wonderfully colourful and playful, but stoic, too, with its basalt walls.”

Point Wells Cricket Club by Pac Studio really took the jury’s fancy. “It would be hard not to be bowled over by this exuberant folly at the bottom of a private garden,” the jury said. “The architects have taken the brief for a small shelter to hold a beer fridge, and created at long on – or is it third man? – an ode to the joy of watching cricket, complete with exaggerated flag poles and an old school wooden bench on the verandah.”

The 2020 Auckland Architecture Awards is a programme of Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects, supported by Resene. All award-winning projects will go forward for consideration in the New Zealand Architecture Awards, which will be announced in early November.

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