Nelson Marlborough Awards, NZIA 2010, New Zealand Architecture, Buildings, Architects

Nelson Marlborough Architecture Awards – 2010 : New Zealand

Nelson Marlborough NZIA Awards 2010 : New Zealand Architecture – Winners

7 Oct 2010

Nelson Marlborough Architecture Awards

From superloo to library imaginarium – 2010 Nelson Marlborough Architecture Awards announced

A striking superloo with glass walls, and a library with an ‘imaginarium’ are among designs celebrated in the 2010 Nelson Marlborough Architecture Awards.

A winery and stunning new homes also feature in the 2010 Nelson Marlborough Architecture Awards programme, organised and run by the New Zealand Institute of Architects and supported by Resene.

Judging panel convenor, Blenheim architect Tim Barton, said that there had been very strong entries in the residential category, including a number in remote locations.

“It would have taken so long to reach some of the properties by road that, in the end, we decided to take a boat instead and visited three that way in one morning,” he said.

Superloo intrigues judges

Jurors were intrigued by the innovative Superloo designed by Redbox Architects for Waimea Intermediate School.

The toilet block, a winner in the Small Project Architecture category, includes brilliant yellow interior walls, and glass exterior walls on two sides making the handwashing area visible from the outside.

Jurors praised the way the building challenged conventional thinking about privacy while succeeding in creating a “bright, colourful and safe environment.”

Library with imaginarium

The Tasman District Council Library in Richmond, was among three winning projects designed by Arthouse Architecture.

The library, a winner in the Public Architecture category, includes an in-library café and an ‘imaginarium,’ where users can rehearse and record music.

It was described by jurors as “A lively response to the new script for modern libraries.” Features also include glass partitioning inscribed with giant typography.

Friendly winery
The Yealands Estate Winery, in the Awatere Valley scooped double honours in the Commercial Architecture and Sustainable Architecture categories.
Jurors said that, “like its founder” Peter Yealands, the winery, by C Nott Architects, was “confident and straightforward,” and the simple arched form was elegant and friendly while maintaining a high level of sustainability.

Residential Architecture category Winners

An Apple Bay House by Parsonson Architects, set in the Marlborough Sounds bush, charmed jurors with its “poise and lightness” and careful detailing.

Jurors praised the way “Deft planning has created a surprising variety of well-proportioned living spaces, including a library with reading nook, pool room and a performance stage.”

Three properties by Irving Smith Jack Architects featured among winners in the Residential Architecture category. Balquidder, a small home overlooking the owner’s private vineyards at Brightwater, captivated jurors with its “effortless fluency.”

An Onahau Bay Bach was cited as a fine example of “an architect having listened carefully to the needs of the clients” and the Tiltpanel House in Nelson city was seen as simple, robust and elegant and “A model for the cost-effective, warm-in-winter, cool-in-summer dwellings for the future.

The Lee House by BSW Architects, in Kaiteriteri overlooking Abel Tasman National Park, was admired as a “slick integration of Asian and western culture. Jurors described it as “more a luxury retreat/spa than a house” and noted “simply to visit is to feel pampered”.

Sounds House, in Queen Charlotte Sound, by John Daish Architects and Archiscape in association was hailed as “delightful and adventurous” and a Spring Creek House in Marlborough by Arthouse Architecture was described as “inviting and comfortable”.

Colourful pharmacy

The Greenwood Street Pharmacy in Motueka, also by Arthouse Architecture, was also a winner in the Small Project Architecture category.

It was described as “vibrant and confidently planned,” overcoming the challenges of a contaminated site to create a very accessible local amenity – with the use of colour drawing attention to the building in a positive way.

Friendship Boardwalk a winner in Urban Design category

The Friendship Boardwalk bridge crossing at Wakefield Quay, Nelson, also by Irving Smith Jack Architects, was the only winner in the Urban Design category. It was described as carefully detailed with robust materials evoking a maritime theme while harmonising with the urban scale of neighbouring apartment buildings.

Jurors

Mr Barton was joined on the jury by architects Felicity Wallace from Marton and Marc Baron from Nelson. Lay juror was Jeremy Jones from Wellington. As well as visiting all shortlisted properties, the judges met with the architects and clients. The buildings were judged against a series of key criteria including their contribution to the advancement of architecture as a discipline and enhancement of the human spirit. For more award-winning New Zealand architecture visit, www.nzia.co.nz

About the New Zealand Architecture Awards

The New Zealand Architecture Awards programme was established by the New Zealand Institute of Architects to celebrate the innovation, creativity and excellence of architectural projects nationwide.

The awards are open to all NZIA Practices, and projects can be entered into one or more of 10 categories – Public Architecture, Residential Architecture – Housing, Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing, Commercial Architecture, Urban Design, Interior Architecture, Heritage, Small Project Architecture, Sustainability, and Enduring Architecture.

There is no limit to the number of awards the local jury can make in any category.

The programme has three tiers, progressing from the eight regional awards to national recognition – the New Zealand Architecture Awards – and through to the ultimate accolade, the New Zealand Architecture Medal.

All local winners become eligible for consideration for a New Zealand Architecture Award, decided by a national jury, which includes an overseas judge, in early 2011.

In May at the NZIA’s annual Gala Dinner, the finalists for the New Zealand Architecture Medal will be announced, and the winner named later in the evening. Only one New Zealand Architecture Medal is bestowed each year, in recognition of a single built work.

2010 Nelson Marlborough Architecture Awards – Judges Citations

Yealands Estate Winery
C Nott Architects Ltd
Commercial Architecture

photo © Jim Tannock 2010
Like its founder, the Yealands Estate Winery is confident and straightforward. The simple arched form is translocated from the car yard strips of the US to New Zealand, where it is now the Awatere Valley’s largest building by far. Along the way, the architects have made the building larger, more elegant and much friendlier to the environment. The building and its winemaking systems achieve and maintain a high level of sustainability as measured by internationally accepted auditing procedures.

Tasman District Council Library Richmond
Arthouse Architecture Ltd
Public Architecture

A lively response to the new script for modern libraries, this interior revitalisation celebrates openness, transparency and vitality. It has included an in-library café and an ‘Imaginarium’, where users can rehearse and record music. All this activity is handled by the architects with élan. Glass partitioning, beautifully inscribed with giant typography, controls noise and visibility while allowing daylight and over-sight. Carpets are subtly patterned to delineate the way through the building. Comfort and security are maintained while the institution engages with a new generation of library users.

Apple Bay House
Parsonson Architects
Residential Architecture – Houses

Poise and lightness characterise this carefully detailed house. It uses two pavilions, the lower for sleeping and the upper for living. Deft planning has created a surprising variety of well-proportioned living spaces, including a library with reading nook, pool room and a performance stage. Set in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds bush, it is a memorable home.

Balquhidder
Irving Smith Jack Architects Ltd
Residential Architecture – Houses

This small dwelling is elevated to overlook the owners’ vineyards. It has been planned and executed with effortless fluency. The design is characterised by large roof overhangs, which provide shelter to external living areas on both sides of the house, as well as a strong form that suits the idyllic rural setting.

Lee House
BSW Architects Limited
Residential Architecture – Houses

More a luxury retreat/spa than a house, this is a slick integration of Asian and western architecture. Rich natural materials are lavishly applied. The plan is both subtle and controlled, allowing the building to descend over a steep site offering breath-taking views of Abel Tasman National Park. Simply to visit is to feel pampered.

Onehau Bay Bach
Irving Smith Jack Architects Ltd
Residential Architecture – Houses

This robust and carefully designed house has been made more expansive with large covered decks to provide a series of comfortable and accessible family living spaces. The palette of colours and materials harmonise with the bush environment. The project is a fine example of an architect having listened carefully to the needs of the clients.

Sounds House
John Daish Architects and Archiscape in association
Residential Architecture – Houses

This delightful and adventurous house surprises and invites the visitor to live outside as much as inside. Open, exhilarating spaces are contrasted and alternated with spaces of retreat. This refreshing dwelling cleverly provides all the spaces needed for spiritual and physical comfort.

Spring Creek House
Arthouse Architecture Ltd
Residential Architecture – Houses

This house for a young family is raised on a rock platform, taking advantage of the adjacent creek. The sinuous plan echoes the curve of the creek to provide generous views from all the main living spaces. The north facing aspect and natural materials make this an inviting and comfortable home.

Tiltpanel House
Irving Smith Jack Architects Ltd
Residential Architecture – Houses

This simple robust home uses construction techniques borrowed from larger commercial buildings to provide generous light, air and space for family living. The shoebox proportions and exposed concrete structure belie a logic and elegance seldom experienced in suburbia. This could be a model for the cost-effective, warm-in-winter, cool-in-summer dwellings of the future.

Greenwood Street Pharmacy
Arthouse Architecture Ltd
Small Project Architecture

This vibrant and confidently planned small pharmacy overcomes the challenge of a contaminated site to create a very accessible local amenity. What appears to be a simple plan secretly unfolds to encompass several carefully detailed workspaces, utility and storage areas.

Superloo
redbox architects ltd
Small Project Architecture

This innovative design challenges conventional thinking about privacy and succeeds in creating a bright, colourful and safe environment. The centralised facility releases additional space for teaching within the school, has reduced maintenance costs and simplified supervision. The building has a playful appearance that is entirely appropriate and enhances school life.

Yealands Estate Winery Building
C Nott Architects Ltd
Sustainable Architecture

The building was designed and constructed under the draft green building code, and with a special focus on energy efficiency. Features include: advanced heat recovery, energy-efficient lighting, completely enclosed insulated tank halls, and night time cooling. Yealands Estate is the first winery in the world to be carbon neutral from inception. All branded wines are carbon neutral from the harvesting of the grapes to the port of destination.

The Friendship Boardwalk, Wakefield Quay
Irving Smith Jack Architects Ltd
Urban Design

This carefully detailed bridge crossing opens up a new connection between an earlier landscaping project and a future pathway along the Nelson waterfront. Robust materials evoke a maritime theme and harmonise with the urban scale of the adjacent apartment buildings.