Meet the Architects on September 11 at Auckland Art Gallery

We're delighted to invite you to Meet the Architects, our free evening where you can hear some of the country's best architects in conversation with HOME editor Jeremy Hansen and see slides of their recent and upcoming projects. We're hosting the event with our Home of the Year partner, Altherm Window Systems.

 
The event is being held at the Auckland Art Gallery Auditorium at 6pm on Wednesday September 11. Entry is free, but please RSVP to Ashleigh Webb, awebb@bauermedia.co.nz, if you're keen to come - it's important we manage numbers so we can fit everyone in. Architects who attend get 15 CPD points.

Here's who'll appearing on stage:

Nicholas Stevens and Gary Lawson, designers of the Home of the Year 2013, will talk about the winning house and their exciting upcoming projects, which include a medium-density residential development in Auckland, and a theatre in Hawke's Bay. 

The Headland House by Stevens Lawson Architects. Photograph by Mark Smith.

Aaron Paterson and Dominic Glamuzina of Glamuzina Paterson Architects (recent winners of two NZ Institute of Architects' New Zealand Architecture Awards) will talk about their Lake Hawea House, a finalist in the Home of the Year 2013, as well as other upcoming projects. 

The Lake Hawea House by Glamuzina Paterson Architects. Photograph by Patrick Reynolds.

Sally Ogle and Ben Mitchell-Anyon are the designers of The Dogbox, the Whanganui house that was a finalist in the Home of the Year 2013. They'll be talking about designing and building that remarkable house, as well as the other projects they've got coming up. 

The Dogbox by Patchwork Architecture. Photograph by Paul McCredie.

The talk will run from 6pm and finish about 7.15pm. Please come along - it's not only a talk for architects, but for anyone who's interested in design. We look forward to seeing you there.

Our new cover: Fashion Houses

Behold! Our new cover, which New Zealand subscribers should receive today and which will hit newsstands on Monday. We hope you like it. It's a photograph by Sharrin Rees of a beautiful Sydney home designed by expat New Zealand architects Chris Adams and Bianco Pohio (who are also, as you'll see, experts at creating beautiful, calm interiors).

In the photo, the blue 'Clip' chairs are by Lorenz Kaz for Bedont, and the '91' table is by Alvar Aalto (who also designed the teaware on the shelf behind). The blue vase is by Bitossi. 

This issue is our annual focus on the connections between fashion, architecture and interior design. Some of the homes we've selected for it are owned by people in the fashion biz, and others were chosen because we think they say interesting things about the directions architecture and interior design are heading today. 

We're really pleased with the issue and hope you like it too. Thanks to photographer Sharrin and to Chris and Bianca for helping us create such an arresting cover. 

We'll preview more of the issue's content for you in our posts next week. Have a great weekend. 

Outtakes: Devonport house by Michael O'Sullivan

We really like this home in Devonport, Auckland, by architect Michael O'Sullivan of Bull O'Sullivan Architects (who also designed our Home of the Year in 2011). The long form of the home is clad in white weatherboards, while the interior is a deliberate contrast, full of warm timber. In the photo below, the home's co-owner Iain Wood sits just outside the property. Emily Andrews took the photographs, and Yvette Jay styled the shoot.

The opulent herringbone patterned ceiling (below) is a metaphorical protective cloak thrown over the family. The kitchen, with its dramatic onyx island, features north-facing windows with vertical timber mullions that cast ever-changing patterns of light and shadow through the house.

This is the view out the other side of the living space (below), where Iain admires the sight of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour from the sofas designed by his wife, Jes. The pendant lights in this room were designed by Michael O'Sullivan and blown by Lava Glass. The 'Pebble' tables by Jerry Low and Nathan Yong and the 'Caro' rug by Carmen Stallbaumer are both Ligne Roset from Auckland's Domo Collections.

Michael tucked a downstairs rumpus room for Iain Jes' daughters on the lower level of the house and lined the space in ply (below) with a deep red carpet. 

The pared-back main bedroom (below) features monochromatic bed linen from Seneca and a bedside table from BoConcept. Michael's aesthetic reference for the home's white weatherboard exterior and warm interior was Rangiatea, the famous Maori church in Otaki.

The photo below shows the home's long, low roof pitch, which references the 1950s designs by Group Architects, many of which were also constructed on the North Shore.

My Favourite Building: Michael Lett

We've been running our 'My Favourite Building' page at the back of the magazine since 2005, and recently decided it'd be quite fun to look back over some of the people and buildings we've featured. Earlier this year, Auckland gallerist Michael Lett chose Queen Street's Metro Centre (the big cinema complex with the IMAX theatre, behind the Civic), a mid-1990s exercise in futurism by Walker Group Architects. The photo is by Alastair Guthrie (Michael's head is just visible peering off the bridge at the top).

Here's what Michael had to say about why he likes the building.

“Before this space became Queen Street’s Metro Centre, it had DKD café and a Hare Krishna vegetarian café and was somewhat bohemian. When the new building went up it was fabulously ugly and I hated it, but over the years it’s become more decrepit and I’ve warmed to it. It’s dawned on me that this could be the Civic Theatre of my generation. 

"In Auckland there is a tendency to continually renovate or try to improve existing architecture, often to the detriment of the building. I was quite sad when they got rid of the Metro Centre’s rocket-shaped pillars and the tube TVs with their fibreglass, bug-like screens above the movie counter – I tried to buy one but they’d been thrown out. 

"If we leave this place alone for 50 years we’ll be revelling in its design. It’s a fine example of the façadism trend, and it’s so 90s with the overtones of sci-fi futurism in its fitout. And who doesn’t love a rocket lift?”

Outtakes: A Mount Maunganui marvel by Evan Mayo

Mount Maunganui is one of New Zealand's favourite summer destinations, but when Heather Coyne and Mark Winter asked Hamilton-based architect Evan Mayo of Architecture Bureau to design them a holiday home there, they never envisaged they'd end up moving there permanently. 

It's a credit to Evan's smart design that they did so. Heather and Mark found the single-level holiday house he created so pleasing that they decided to move there full-time. The main house, beautifully photographed by Florence Noble, features a handsome, compact, three-bedroom structure with high ceilings made from hoop-line plywood. Importantly, the property's original cottage was retained on the site, and now doubles as a home office and spare bedroom. It's visible in the right of the photo below, and is one of the few original dwellings remaining on the Mount Maunganui beachfront promenade.

The tyre-swing that hangs from the pohutukawa down the drive and the central decking between the original property and the modern building (below) perfectly respond to the brief of this holiday home being "a place for the kids to grow up" says Mark.

The view from the kitchen cleverly looks over the home's living and decking area so Heather and Mark can keep an eye on their grandchildren at play (below) and enjoy the sunshine when they feel like it.

The extended eave over the deck offers shade and shelter (below), while the deck integrates well with the surrounding landscaping, which expertly manages the transition from the lower-level carport to the home itself. Inside, clerestory windows on the home's western elevation allow good ventilation and afternoon light.

The living area features the Focus 'Ergofocus' fireplace designed by Dominique Imbert, which warms the area on cold winter nights. The pendant lights above the kitchen bench were purchased on TradeMe.

 

The shot below shows the connection between the open-plan living space and main bedroom and en suite. Two additional smaller bedrooms are tucked into the home's western side, but when no visitors are staying, the home feels like a simple apartment for Heather and Mark.

The retention of the original cottage (below) is a sympathetic masterstroke. On a street where a number of homes look like they're on steroids, Evan's sensitive design retains something of the diminutive age-old scale of this beachside community, as well as providing privacy for Heather and Mark's new home.

  

The following photograph is from just across the road from the house, with Mount Maunganui beach's wild-daisy covered dunes extending into the distance. 

 

Outtakes: A beautiful beach getaway by Min Hall

It's that time of year when we start fantasising about taking a break - not an all-action holiday, but something quiet and wintry that mostly involves reading books around a fire. This home by architect Min Hall in Golden Bay seems to fit that description perfectly.

First, the plan, which is interesting in its own right. Min broke the house into modules designed to fit around the trees. There is one living and dining area, another wing for the main bedroom and the third for guests (below). The sea is on the eastern boundary, or right-hand side of the plan.

The photograph below (all these images were taken by Paul McCredie) shows the approach to the house, where cars pull up to the back of the house. Min designed the home's modules to be clad in different materials to break up the bulk of the building even further. Covered walkways connect the home's different parts.

Inside, the house has elegantly simple aesthetics - only two pieces of art feature in the property, so not to distract from its surroundings -  yet there are some unique design elements which define the house.

The box window in the dining area (below) is likened to a museum display and exaggerates the feeling of looking inwards through the forest. A Simon James-designed 'Hawk' table accompanies seating by Marc Zuckerman and a smaller rustic 'Uma' bench by Chad Heays.

Huge folding doors off the living area allow a large panorama of the bay (below).

Perhaps even better is the view from the main bedroom where, at high tide, water gently laps on the shore just a few metres away. This is the kind of thing real holidays are made of - when staying in bed seems like one of the best ways to enjoy the views.

Outtakes: McKinney's transformed Kingsland Villa

Architect Jack McKinney's Auckland villa renovation featured in our June/July 2012 issue, and remains one of our favourites. In some ways, it was a classic bang-out-the-back scenario - albeit with a much more sophisticated approach. These photographs are by Patrick Reynolds. In this shot, you can see how Jack's addition preserves the line of the hallway, which runs clean through to the back yard.

After travelling past bedrooms and bathrooms, visitors to the home enter the addition, and an expansive, contemporary open-plan living, dining and kitchen space (below). The twin peaks of the additions roof stretch northwards, flooding the space with light throughout the day while maintaining privacy from the neighbouring houses. The 'Van Dyck' dining table is by Rodolfo Dordoni for Minotti from ECC, and the 'Flo' dining chairs are by Patricia Urquiola for Driade from Indice. The orange 'Strips' sofa is by Cini Boeri for Arflex.


McKinney's stainless steel kitchen exudes simplicity. Suspended above the bench is a copper pendant light (below) made by Jack from waxed copper plate.

The view below shows the home's peaked roofline and dramatic windows. The sun moves through the space like a sundial throughout the day.

Out the back of the house is the studio (below), which was originally an old garage. Its peaked roof echoes that of the home's extension.

When it came to furnishing the studio interior (below), Jack made a refreshing decision: "I like leaving it empty," he says. He also kept the concrete floor of the original garage.

This view (below) looks from the studio back to the main house.

Updated: World Architecture Festival - the NZ finalists

Seven New Zealand projects have been listed as finalists in the World Architecture Festival, to be held in Singapore in October. 

The Auckland Art Gallery, designed by FJMT and Archimedia, is a finalist in the festival's 'Culture' category (photo below by Patrick Reynolds). 

 















The Whakatane Library and Exhibition Centre (below) by Irving Smith Jack Architects (a recent winner in the NZIA national awards), is a finalist in the 'New and Old' category.

A housing development at 387 Tamaki Drive, Auckland, by Sydney-based Ian Moore Architects is a finalist in the 'Housing' category (below).

The Mackelvie Street development in Ponsonby, Auckland, by RTA Studio in is a finalist in the 'Shopping' category (below, photo by Jackie Meiring).

Also by RTA Studio, the planned 'Ice Hotel' in Queenstown is a finalist in the 'Future Projects - Leisure Led Development' category.  

An Alexandra house, also by Irving Smith Jack Architects, is a finalist in the 'Villa' category (photo below by Patrick Reynolds; look out for this in an upcoming issue of HOME).

 

The Auckland Zoo giraffe house (rendering below), by Glamuzina Paterson and Hamish Monk Architects, is a finalist in the 'Display' category. 

Congratulations to all the finalists! We'll keep you up to date with details later in the year when the winners are announced at the festival.

The winners in the New Zealand Architecture Awards

There's a bunch of terrific buildings in the New Zealand Architecture Awards, bestowed at a function in Auckland last night (May 24) by the NZ Institute of Architects. 

First, congratulations to Fearon Hay Architects: The Imperial Buildings, a refurbishment of an abandoned Auckland theatre complex (featured in our February/March 2012 issue), won the highest honour, the New Zealand Architecture Medal. Well-deserved, we reckon. The photo is by Patrick Reynolds.

The judges' citation said "the conversion of older buildings to new purposes ... signals a greater awareness of the worth of existing buildings, and of the possibilities they offer to imaginative clients and architects." The building also won an award in the Heritage category.

We'll look at the winners of the New Zealand Architecture Awards for housing next. Nice to see the Lake Hawea courtyard house (below) by Glamuzina Paterson Architects, a finalist in our Home of the Year award, getting recognised here, too. The photo is by Patrick Reynolds.

Glamuzina Paterson Architects picked up a second housing gong for the 'S' house (below) in Auckland's Mount Eden, which featured in our August/September 2012 issue.

Stevens Lawson Architects picked up a housing award for this home (below) in Waiake Beach in Auckland. 

And another housing award went to the Regent Park Apartments for City Housing in Wellington (below), designed by Designgroup Stapleton Architects.

The First Light House by First Light Studio (designed while its members were students at Victoria University of Wellington) picked up an award for International Architecture. It appeared at the Solar Decathlon in Washington, DC, and is now located on a site in Hawke's Bay, which we're looking forward to showing you in an upcoming issue. 

This place (below) isn't technically a home - it's 'The Shack' at Cloudy Bay in Marlborough, a place where guests of the vineyard can stay. It was designed by Tim Greer and Paul Rolfe and it won an award for Commercial Architecture. You might remember it from our August/September 2012 issue. 

Patterson Associates picked up a commercial award for the Geyser building in Parnell, Auckland (below), as well as an award for Sustainable Architecture.

  
And the third commercial architecture award went to Architecture + for Telecom Central in Wellington (below). 

In the education category, Architectus won an award for their design of the St Cuthbert's College Performing Arts Centre in Auckland (below). 

We always enjoy the Enduring Architecture category, and this year's winner is a treat: the School of Music at the University of Auckland by Hill Manning Mitchell (below). This shot is of the lovely courtyard behind the lyrical blank facade. Go in for a look if you're passing by - the building's in lower Symonds Street.

In the Planning and Urban Design category, there were two awards. The first went to Architectus for their work on the Karanga Plaza and kiosk at Auckland's North Wharf (below). 

The other Planning and Urban Design award went to the Buchan Group for Re:START, Christchurch's lively container mall (below).

In the Public Architecture category, Tennent + Brown and SKM won an award for the ASB Sports Centre in Kilbirnie, Wellington (below). 

Also winning a Public Architecture award was Athfield Architects' Te Hononga/Christchurch Civic Centre (below). It also won a Sustainable Architecture award.

Still in the Public Architecture category: the third winner of a Public Architecture Award was Pearson & Associates for the Rotoroa Exhibition Centre on Auckland's Rotoroa Island (below). 

The last Public Architecture Award went to Nelson's Irving Smith Jack for their design of the Whakatane Library and Exhibition Centre (below). 

Two to go, both in the category of Small Project architecture. The Wellington Zoo Hub by Assembly Architects (below) picked up one of these prizes.

Finally, the last NZ Architecture Award for 2013 went to Ken Crosson of Crosson Clarke Carnachan for the Hut on Sleds at Whangapoua on the Coromandel Peninsula, a finalist in our 2012 Home of the Year award. 

Oh wait - how could we forget? Each year the NZ Institute of Architects also awards a Gold Medal for career achievement, which this year goes to Auckland architect Pip Cheshire (below) of Cheshire Architects (you might remember the Bambury house from our February/March 2009 issue, which he designed, and also the Mountain Landing house which graced the cover of our June/July 2011 issue). We've got an interview with Pip in our June/July issue, on newsstands June 3. Congratulations to him and all the New Zealand Architecture Award winners.