NZIA Wellington awards celebrate great architecture that's not all big
Two architects had double cause to celebrate with Housing Awards at the 2018 Wellington Architecture Awards on Thursday, May 3.
Two of Parsonson Architects' projects – a small bach and a bush house – won awards, proving once again that it's not all about size. Both these houses also won Resene Colour Awards.
And Lovell and O'Connell Architects took out a Housing Award with a project that also won a Resene Colour Award. The practice won a Housing Additions and Alterations Award as well.
The Te Horo bach by Parsonson Architects won a Housing Award and a Resene Colour Award in the 2018 NZIA Wellington Architecture Awards.
The judges described Parsonson Architects' 87 square-metre Te Horo bach as a "near-perfect" retreat from the city. "The exterior form and batten detailing set the home apart from the surrounding baches, yet the colours and materiality beautifully connect it with the landscape."
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The interior of the Te Horo bach features ply ceilings and colourful '50s-style kitchen cabinets.
The bach also won a Resene colour award. "To subvert the limited colour palette available under subdivision rules, the architect has cleverly applied colours to the sides of exterior battens that are not evident when the façade is viewed straight on. Throughout the interior the colours applied are quirky, appropriate and plentiful."
Set high on a hill, Parsonson Architects' Korokoro bush house was described as "generous in all the right places, snug where it matters, and exquisitely fine-tuned to the environment". The judges said the sense of calm that pervades the house is derived from the way in which the architect has focused views and provided refuge within the bush setting.
In announcing the Resene Colour Award for the Korokoro bush house, the judges said, "Layers of green envelop this house. The colour theme has been taken to heart and expressed not only on exterior cladding but in carpets and on interior walls."
Korokoro Bush House by Parsonson Architects also took out a Housing Award and a Resene Colour Award. The NZIA judges said the house was 'generous in all the right places, and snug where it matters'.
Lovell and O'Connell Architects' Spitaki House in Island Bay was described as "open and generous".
"This house steps down an Island Bay spur to a garden that calls to mind memories of other places and times. Under a clinker-lined birch roof, the living spaces have been united and are now replete with a rich brew of art and musical instruments and great views. Simply but cleverly planned, with outside terraces contained within the main form, this house allows the well-lived lives of the occupants to shine through."
The Resene Colour Award judges like the yellow, green and red applied to sheltered decks, which "impart cheer and charm and enliven this house".
Lovell and O'Connell Architects won a Housing Alterations and Additions Award with the Holloway Road project.
Lovell and O'Connell Architects Holloway Road Alterations and Additions put a contemporary spin on some of the defining characteristics of the villa, the jury said. "Pared-back elegance is an apt description for this early 1900s house, which is now more than ready to take on the 21st century."
The Holloway Road Additions and Alterations project by Lovell and O'Connell Architects provides a contemporary family living area.
The full list of Housing Award Winners with judges comments are as follows:
* Waikanae House by First Light Studio
"The three gabled forms, each distinguishing a pavilion, set among established kohekohe trees, set a calm scene for this new house. The pavilions allow a mother and daughter, along with a caregiver, to live independent but connected lives. The living spaces make the most of sun and have been orientated for wide outlooks – a necessity for people who spend a lot of time inside. Timber decks, lightly covered with polycarbonate roofing, create sheltered connections between the buildings."
The Waikanae House by First Light Studio was designed to provide full accessibility for a mother and daughter.
A large sliding door makes it easy to close off the kitchen in the Waikanae House. Photo by Jason Mann
* Greytown Main House by Foster+Melville Architects
"This beautifully detailed house sits comfortably on its site and within its context thanks to the use of forms that reference rural buildings. It is an exceptional backdrop to the client's extensive collection of art, but the house also performs well in other significant ways. The roof line extends beyond the building to create areas of respite from the Wairarapa summer heat, and the gable roof and timber slats focus attention onto the steel front door, which, once passed, reveals spaces designed to enjoy views that go as far as the Tararua Ranges."
* Hillside House by Vorstermans Architects
"Challenging conditions' is an understatement for what the architects faced on this project, but despite the steep, small and south-facing section, and the road hard up against the northern boundary, the architects have delivered a charming, 135-square-metre family home that is cleverly planned and thoughtfully detailed. This is an excellent example of affordable housing done well."
* Miramar House by Andrew Sexton Architecture
"Restraint and thoughtfulness, exhibited by both client and architect, have resulted in a courtyard house so well attuned to its place that seems as if it might have occupied it for many years. The interior play of light, the rhythm created by timber and fenestration, and the quality and positioning of built-in furniture, reveal an exceptional sensitivity to the lifestyles of the occupants and the vagaries of Wellington's environment."
* Wairarapa House by Custance Associates
"This clearly planned house is based around a central spine defined by highly detailed cast insitu concrete panels. Elevated above the Ruamahanga River, the house is built of honest and robust materials – an appropriate response to the rural context. River stones, dark-stained cedar and walnut are highlights of the warm, earthy palette; the quality of light, cross ventilation and thermal regulation are all excellent, thanks to the actuated clerestory windows of the hallway and the extensive exposed thermal mass. Discrete, understated and with a number of features that reveal themselves as you explore, this house is a house for all seasons that has been built to last many lifetimes."
* Korokoro Bush House by Parsonson Architects
"The sense of calm that pervades this house is derived from the way in which the architect has focused views and provided refuge within the bush setting. From a sheltered entrance, the house opens into distinct but well-connected spaces that are defined by perfectly framed picture windows. Generous in all the right places, and snug where it matters, this house has been exquisitely fine-tuned to the environment."
* Te Horo Bach by Parsonson Architects
"With raw materials and charming interiors, the architect has provided a near-perfect retreat from the city for his clients. The exterior form and batten detailing set the home apart from the surrounding baches, yet the colours and materiality beautifully connect it with the landscape."
* Spitaki House by Lovell and O'Connell Architects
"Open and generous, this house steps down an Island Bay spur to a garden that calls to mind memories of other places and times. Under a clinker-lined birch roof, the living spaces have been united and are now replete with a rich brew of art and musical instruments and great views. Simply but cleverly planned, with outside terraces contained within the main form, this house allows the well-lived lives of the occupants to shine through."
* Holloway Road Alterations and Additions by Lovell O'Connell Architects
"This well-integrated contemporary addition puts a contemporary spin on some of the defining characteristics of the villa. The rear 'lean-to' is now a simple extrusion of the basic envelope of the original villa, with oversized windows and doors that are generous in the way they create light and open connections to the tidy garden. Pared-back elegance is an apt description for this early 1900s house, which is now more than ready to take on the twenty-first century."
* 'Shed' and a.k.a Office Alterations and Additions by a.k.a Architecture
"The awards jury didn't want to leave this intriguing two-part project that balances lavishness with modesty, darkness and light, and verticality and horizontality in almost equal measure. The architect has ensured that every square inch of space available contributes to the greater good. The 'Shed' is dark and moody, neatly vertical beside the main structure. Nestled into a small external basement space, the office is a bright, white counterpoint, embellished by concrete formwork and clever joinery elements that add a sense of subtle compartmentalisation to this endearing piece of work.
Full list of award winners by category:
COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE
22 Boulcott Street – architecture+
Arise Centre – bbc architectsCuba Dixon Redevelopment – Athfield Architects
EDUCATION
Te Toki a Rata Building, Victoria University of Wellington –Warren and Mahoney Architects
Our Lady of Kāpiti School – Studio of Pacific Architecture
Te Auaha – foster+melville architects
Victoria Business School: Rutherford House Redevelopment – Athfield Architects
ENDURING ARCHITECTURE
Park Mews (1973) – Roger Walker
HOUSING
Greytown Main House – foster+melville architects
Hillside House – Vorstermans Architects
Korokoro Bush House – Parsonson Architects
Miramar House – Andrew Sexton Architecture
Waikanae House – First Light Studio
Te Horo Bach – Parsonson Architects
Spitaki House – Lovell and O'Connell Architects
Wairarapa House – Custance Associates
HOUSING – ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS
Holloway Road Alterations and Additions – Lovell and O'Connell Architects
'Shed' and a.k.a Office – a.k.a Architecture
HOUSING – MULTI-UNIT
Te Aro Pā Trust Papakāinga Housing – Walker Architecture and Design
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE
Creature Design Fitout – Herriot Melhuish O'Neill Architects (HMOA)
Singleton Dental – Andrew Sexton Architecture
- Homed
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