Holiday home wins award
GARY Todd admits he was ‘‘pretty humbled’ when a Queenstown holiday home he designed won the TIDA (Trends International Design Awards) New Zealand Architect New Home of the Year Award.
‘‘A little old Dunedin architect against all the big boys,’’ Mr Todd, of Gary Todd Architecture, said after the recent awards function in Auckland.
Judges commented it was a striking architectural design that made the most of its stunning site.
But it was much more than ‘‘just a modern, crisplooking home’’.
Mr Todd used the principles of biophilia — incorporating nature into architecture — to underpin the design.
That allowed the house and its owners to be fully connected to all aspects of the natural surroundings.
‘‘The result is a house that is full of sensual surprises.’’
Gary Todd Architecture was established as Gary Todd Design in Dunedin in 1993, and the practice expanded to a second office in Wanaka in 2005.
The selftaught designer’s work started winning awards and he was invited to join the New Zealand Institute of Architects, becoming a registered architect.
The owners of the Queenstown holiday home were international clients who travelled the world.
Mr Todd always felt the project was ‘‘destined to be great’’ — ‘‘it was destined to go somewhere, this kind of house’’ — and there had been fantastic feedback from all who had worked on it, as well as the owners.
His firm was a boutique business that worked on projects throughout Otago, Southland and Canterbury, and it had clients around the world.
The firm had some ‘‘fantastic’’ projects coming up, including several projects around the
$10 million mark.
Queenstown and Wanaka was a region that suited Mr Todd as a designer, as he found the area inspiring.
With its extreme climate, he had also gained the knowledge to design properties that could cope with freezing winters and hot summers.
The four TIDA homes winners from New Zealand, as well as winners from Australia, will be judged in the TIDA international section, where they will be joined by winners of other professional award programmes in the United States and Asia.
The TIDA International
Home of the Year will be announced in March next year.