Dave Strachan, the architect who was nicknamed ‘Four-by-two’ by his architecture school peers in reference to his origins as a self-taught builder, accepted the NZIA Gold Medal at a function in Auckland’s Morningside on Thursday 25 February.

The Gold Medal honours those architects who consistently achieve the highest standards for, and with, their clients. Recipients are those who have made an outstanding contribution to the practice of architecture, which is demonstrated through a consistently high-quality body of work over a period of time. In addition, consideration is given to whether the recipient has advanced architecture in New Zealand, and has contributed to architectural culture, to the profession, and to the wider community.

“The excellent body of work for which Dave’s practice has received many architectural, Master Builders and interior design awards speaks for itself; but it is his contribution to the profession, to the wider industry, to communities, to aspiring students, and to those who have had the privilege of working with him that make him a worthy recipient of the Gold Medal,” said Te Kāhui Whaihanga Past President Tim Meville, who also paid tribute to Dave’s passion for sustainability.

The 2020 Gold Medal Committee was comprised of Tim Melville as chair; Associate Professor at the University of Auckland Julia Gatley; architect and Te Kāhui Whaihanga distinguished fellow Anne Salmond; architect, Te Kāhui Whaihanga fellow and 2018 Gold Medallist Jeremy Salmond; and architect Judi Keith‐Brown, who was president-elect at the time and is now president of Te Kāhui Whaihanga. Past Gold Medallists have included John Scott (1999), Sir Ian Athfield (2004), Roger Walker (2016) and Jeremy Salmond (2018).

Dave Strachan will deliver a Gold Medal lecture at eight centres around New Zealand from 28 April to 26 May. Tickets and further details can be found at nzia.co.nz.

Gold Medal Citation

“In a profession in which it is easy to be typecast, Dave Strachan has escaped the confines of restrictive definition by refusing to be pigeon-holed. Through his design skill and environmental awareness, his understanding of building and empathy for builders, his embrace of teaching opportunities and mentoring responsibilities, his shepherding of his studio through the New Zealand economy’s peaks and troughs and his determination to challenge himself and develop his skills, he has come to occupy a unique place in this country’s architecture.

“Dave built his career from the ground up. He discovered his desire to design during a stint as a self-taught builder, and it was the strength of his conviction, as much as anything, that gained him entry to the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture. Dave might not be a conventional academic – being more concerned to solve problems than ponder them – but he is a natural teacher, and a qualified one. His dedication to the gaining, using and imparting of knowledge is an inherited imperative: he is proud to come from a long line of builders, architects and teachers. For him, these are complementary vocations and he has combined them over the course of his purposeful career.

“From the start, a consistent theme of Dave’s career has been his willingness to push himself, as a practitioner and, more than that, as a person. He returned to university as an older student to take an advanced degree in sustainable design that would better equip him to respond to some of the central challenges of contemporary architecture. He furthered his education, and made valuable connections with Australian architects, in Glenn Murcutt’s International Master Class. Along with his talent and capacity for hard work, these investments in his practice have yielded numerous award-winning buildings that testify to his continuing design evolution. Over two decades, SGA–Strachan Group Architects, the practice he founded in 1998, has received more than 20 awards from the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects, including New Zealand Architecture Awards for Urban Shed (2007), Parakete Ora Sandringham Plunket (2009), Owhanake Bay House (2012), Boatsheds (2013), and his firm’s own Studio & Workshops (2015).

“In these and many other projects, Dave has demonstrated his mastery of the making of buildings. He not only devises design details and building elements, he models and tests them in the workshop of the building that also houses his sons’ construction and landscape architecture businesses. This co-location expresses Dave’s resolve to transcend disciplinary barriers in the building industry as clearly as the conduct of his studio expresses his belief that those who work with him should be treated not as employees but as whānau. Such concerns, shared by Dave’s practice partner Pat de Pont, have extended, generously, out into the wider community, animating such successful collaborative projects as the Unitec Studio 19 and Architecture+Women NZ Motu Kaikoura design-build programmes, social housing for notfor-profit organisations and a centre for Auckland’s Cook Islands community.

“After a 40-year career, Dave Strachan is still going as strong as ever, still innovating and still running against the wind.” – Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects

Biography

Born in Feilding in 1953 and raised in Te Awamutu, Dave entered the University of Auckland School of Architecture after a year spent working as a builder in the 1970s, an experience that opened his eyes to the possibilities of architecture as a career. Despite not having the necessary qualifications, Dave talked his way onto the course by convincing the head of the School of Architecture, the late Allan Wild, to let him in.

After finishing his Bachelor of Architecture and also getting his teaching diploma, Dave started a designand-build company called The Architecture Shop in 1980. He spent the next two decades designing, building, travelling, honing his craft and working in the industry.

In 1998, Dave founded the practice he still runs today, Strachan Group Architects (SGA). The practice in Auckland’s Morningside shares premises with the landscape architecture and building businesses run by Dave’s three sons, and this co-location is an extension of Dave’s belief that those who work with him should be treated not as employees but as whānau.

His interest in and talent for passing on his knowledge made him a successful adjunct professor at Unitec School of Architecture between 2005-2015, where he led the Studio 19 programme, which allowed architecture students to get hands-on experience building their own designs.

SGA has received more than 20 awards from Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects, including New Zealand Architecture Awards for Urban Shed (2007), Parakete Ora Sandringham Plunket (2009), Owhanake Bay House (2012), Boatsheds (2013), and his firm’s own Studio & Workshops (2015).

Extended coverage about the life and work of Dave Strachan is available at nzia.co.nz.