Best houses include the ‘unpretentious’
There’s plenty to love about the latest crop of award-winning architecture projects in the Canterbury and West Coast regions.
And once again, timber reigns supreme in many of the nine projects that won Housing Awards in the programme run by Te Ka¯ hui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects.
While the awards also cover commercial, educational, heritage and hospitality projects, housing that had special mention this year. Awards jury covener, Christchurch architect Huia Reriti, said Canterbury housing, in particular, was in good design health. ‘‘And it was especially pleasing that several architects’ own houses won awards.’’
Housing Award winners include Houhere, a ‘‘truly casual weekender’’ on Banks Peninsula, designed by New Work Studio and Tim Nees Architects.
‘‘This house was built with retirement in mind,’’ the jury noted. ‘‘It references the rural vernacular of DOC huts, resulting in an architecture that is unpretentious, functional and uplifting. The house is a celebration of sustainable construction and living, and expresses its integrity through its crafted timber construction and as a sustainable insertion into a powerful rural setting.’’
A prefabricated, modular house in Amberley, designed by AW Architects, took out an award – the awards jury said Hursley House ‘‘feels anything but off-the-shelf’’.
‘‘It is a simple, wellconsidered hurhouse that provides a new model for living more sympathetically within our grand landscapes.’’
On a more grand scale, Park Terrace by PRau is ‘‘a postearthquake rebuild that acknowledges and playfully interrogates Christchurch’s architectural heritage,’’ the jury said. ‘‘This black gable form is exquisitely composed, and a raw industrial aesthetic is balanced by elegant detailing.’’
Chippindale House at Charteris Bay is an architect’s own house designed by Stephenson and Turner NZ. ‘‘Sited on a lava flow embankment with views over Whakaraupo harbour, the house, with its ‘Canterbury prickle’ detailing, evokes an earlier era, while being eminently fit for contemporary use,’’ the jury said.
Hawthorne Street House in Strowan, by Sheppard & Rout Architects, is ‘‘a simple formal response to complex site constraints,’’ the jury said. ‘‘A palette of robust materials creates a cosy and relaxed atmosphere, and beautifully detailed joinery articulates but does not dominate interior spaces.’’
Sheppard & Rout Architects also won an award for Terrace House in Cashmere, Paragon Apartments in Christchurch, plus the Dark Sky star-gazing project at Lake Tekapo, and the ANZCO Foods Head Office, with Jasmax and Three Sixty Architects.