Colourful project wins prize
An eye-catching street of differently coloured houses in Rolleston has been recognised in the Canterbury regional Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Awards.
The awards jury described Seven Colourful Little Houses by Common as “an enclave of delightfully bright homes inspired by DOC huts and rural sheds (and built for $2800 per m², well below national average building costs)”.
Seven Colourful Little Houses won a Housing – Multi Unit Award and a Resene Colour Award. A single colour selection (used inside and out) distinguishes each dwelling in this family of seven houses, prompting the Resene judges to note: “With one determined move, an uninhibited and youthful fleet is set forth in a sea of suburbia.”
The jury said all the residential projects showed originality and innovation. These include one of the most spectacular post-earthquake rebuilds in Christchurch.
The beautiful 1899 heritage brick villa in Christchurch was one of 25 projects to get special mention at an awards ceremony yesterday.
Other winners include an entire civil regeneration project, remarkable new houses and an iconic Brutalist library.
A heritage villa rebuild, designed by Borrmeister Architects, received a Housing – Alterations and Additions Award, with the jury praising the skill and sensitivity of the project.
The jury made special mention of the garden room and floating pergola that mediate the transition from house to the garden, “contrasting with the age and solidity of the villa but achieving harmony through rich materiality, texture, craft and the play of light and shadow.”
Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust, a social housing project that achieved Homestar 7 certification, is another of the three winners in the Housing – Multi Unit category. It includes 35 environmentally, socially and economically sustainable apartments and family homes made of low-maintenance materials, designed with the collaborative integration of traditional Māori values, and finished with edible gardens.
At the other end of the scale, Textured Bach in Christchurch by Nic Owen Architects, winner of Home magazine’s 2024 City Home of the Year award, won an award in the Housing category. The jury praised the use of charred wood, and said: “Conceived as a high-performance sculpture in which to live and work, the meticulously crafted layout is experienced like an adventure. Inventive multipurpose elements feature everywhere, expressing each family member’s personality, including the cat.
“The abstracted sculptural form blurs the boundaries between inside and out, providing an uplifting sense of delight, while also feeling homely with a variety of snug spots and places to display artwork.”
Sumner House by RTA Studio – a dramatic and angular residential form on a tricky triangular site – was another Housing Award winner turning heads.
And One One Two by Common was praised for its “curvilinear brick mass that hovers lightly above a finely detailed timber ground floor”.
The jury said the house, on a busy urban intersection opposite peaceful Hagley Park, responds to duality in its context by creating the layered duality in form.
The astonishing school built within a warehouse is another winner. Marian College by Sheppard & Rout Architects was described by the jury as a “bold, inventive and groundbreaking architectural project”.
“The skylit circulation and gathering spaces between the structures are spatially dramatic, providing the sensation of being outdoors while offering shelter from harsh climate conditions. Playing fields, a gymnasium and theatre are easily housed under the folded roof.
‘‘The exquisite, atmospheric chapel near the entrance creates a slightly surreal and uplifting experience.”
The awards jury described the Enduring Architecture recipient, University of Canterbury – Puaka-James Hight (Central Library) Building, as “a cornerstone of the Ilam university campus”. The wonderfully Brutalist architecture, constructed from 1969 to 1974, exemplifies “how enduring purpose and solid foundations transcend fleeting trends”, they said.
In announcing the awards, jury convenor Maria Chen of Athfield Architects said the jury heard of the profound impact that these winning projects brought to clients’ lives and their businesses.
“It showcases the immense value that architects can bring,” she said.