Model Citizens 2022 lights up Auckland Architecture Week

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Architecture + Women NZ putting the finishing touches to their creation.

Architecture + Women NZ putting the finishing touches to their creation. Image: David St George

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Athfield Architects present their long-drop-inspired light, complete with the moth – ubiquitous to this form of vernacular architecture.

Athfield Architects present their long-drop-inspired light, complete with the moth – ubiquitous to this form of vernacular architecture. Image: David St George

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The team from SGA acquaint themselves with the competition's materials.

The team from SGA acquaint themselves with the competition’s materials. Image: David St George

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SGA's Maddy Whiteford, Michael Holehouse, Shane Tregidga and Baz Cheng.

SGA’s Maddy Whiteford, Michael Holehouse, Shane Tregidga and Baz Cheng. Image: David St George

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Architecture + Women NZ: Ruth Gavey  (Leuschke Group Architects), Wing Chan (PTG Architecture), Charlotte Dunning (Leuschke Group Architects), Katie Dickens (DKO), Selena Duncan (Gaze Commercial) and Bronya Webb (Paul Brown & Associates).

Architecture + Women NZ: Ruth Gavey (Leuschke Group Architects), Wing Chan (PTG Architecture), Charlotte Dunning (Leuschke Group Architects), Katie Dickens (DKO), Selena Duncan (Gaze Commercial) and Bronya Webb (Paul Brown & Associates). Image: David St George

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Respond Architects' deconstructed Gherkin-inspired light.

Respond Architects’ deconstructed Gherkin-inspired light. Image: David St George

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Respond Architects: Ju An Teo, Joe Lyth, Mevuni Weerackody, Aneke Pretorius, Steeven Mou Sang and Sam Jang.

Respond Architects: Ju An Teo, Joe Lyth, Mevuni Weerackody, Aneke Pretorius, Steeven Mou Sang and Sam Jang. Image: David St George

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Ministry of Architecture+Interiors running final checks on their impressive entry.

Ministry of Architecture+Interiors running final checks on their impressive entry. Image: David St George

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Ministry of Architecture+Interiors.

Ministry of Architecture+Interiors. Image: David St George

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Ministry of Architecture+Interiors: Susannah Howlett, Nicole Dealey, Nathan Stowell, Lindy Ewart, Rasha Al Assafi and Brett Roake-Barefoot.

Ministry of Architecture+Interiors: Susannah Howlett, Nicole Dealey, Nathan Stowell, Lindy Ewart, Rasha Al Assafi and Brett Roake-Barefoot. Image: David St George

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The Architectus team;:sabelle Neilsen, Kirsty Walker and Troy Lu.

The Architectus team;:sabelle Neilsen, Kirsty Walker and Troy Lu. Image: David St George

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The team from Architectus.

The team from Architectus. Image: David St George

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Architectus gets to grip with the unusual geometries of their Futuna Chapel-inspired light.

Architectus gets to grip with the unusual geometries of their Futuna Chapel-inspired light. Image: David St George

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Kada supplied Toto's pizza to keep both the jury and teams focused.

Kada supplied Toto’s pizza to keep both the jury and teams focused. Image: David St George

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Woods Bagot in planning mode.

Woods Bagot in planning mode. Image: David St George

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Woods Bagot's delicate butter paper creation,  inspired by Shigeru Ban's cardboard Cathedral, was a crowd favourite.

Woods Bagot’s delicate butter paper creation, inspired by Shigeru Ban’s cardboard Cathedral, was a crowd favourite. Image: David St George

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Warren and Mahoney, aka WaMchester United, enjoying the challenge.

Warren and Mahoney, aka WaMchester United, enjoying the challenge. Image: David St George

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Warren and Mahoney deep in thought during the planning stages.

Warren and Mahoney deep in thought during the planning stages. Image: David St George

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Warren and Mahoney team; Kimmy Deng, Amanda Wijaya, Sarah Jorgensen, Harry Denley, Kate Stanley and Daniel Eaton.

Warren and Mahoney team; Kimmy Deng, Amanda Wijaya, Sarah Jorgensen, Harry Denley, Kate Stanley and Daniel Eaton. Image: David St George

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Context Architects and Kada joined forces on their Len Lye Centre/Vitra Nuage vase-inspired creation.

Context Architects and Kada joined forces on their Len Lye Centre/Vitra Nuage vase-inspired creation. Image: David St George

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Context Architects and Kada admiring their handiwork.

Context Architects and Kada admiring their handiwork. Image: David St George

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SANNZ: Isaac Rakich, Sakina Ali, Sinéad McClay, Rohan Sadhu, Joseph Bjelic-Webster and Adam Collett.

SANNZ: Isaac Rakich, Sakina Ali, Sinéad McClay, Rohan Sadhu, Joseph Bjelic-Webster and Adam Collett. Image: David St George

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Teams work away on their lighting concepts before judging time.

Teams work away on their lighting concepts before judging time. Image: David St George

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David Trubridge, design luminary and jury member, announces the two winners, the best use of colour and the top prize for Model Citizens 2022.

David Trubridge, design luminary and jury member, announces the two winners, the best use of colour and the top prize for Model Citizens 2022. Image: David St George

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The Model Citizens jury, from left: Prof. Andrew Barrie, Jacinda Rogers and David Trubridge.

The Model Citizens jury, from left: Prof. Andrew Barrie, Jacinda Rogers and David Trubridge. Image: David St George

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Architecture + Women NZ.

Architecture + Women NZ. Image: David St George

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This year's Model Citizens sponsors Kada and Resene. Back row: Sara Morles, Rebecca Murray, Hana Faamalepe, Dave White, Lily Gilbert, Kerry Thomas, TJ Lee, Hadleigh Armstrong and Maurice Ward. Front row: Millie Elliot, Arabella Nelson and Sharon Pearce.

This year’s Model Citizens sponsors Kada and Resene. Back row: Sara Morles, Rebecca Murray, Hana Faamalepe, Dave White, Lily Gilbert, Kerry Thomas, TJ Lee, Hadleigh Armstrong and Maurice Ward. Front row: Millie Elliot, Arabella Nelson and Sharon Pearce. Image: David St George

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Model Citizens 2022 brief was to create a suspended light inspired by a celebrated building.

Model Citizens 2022 brief was to create a suspended light inspired by a celebrated building. Image: David St George

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Architecture Week 2022 kicked off with Model Citizens, a fun object-making competition organised by Architecture NZ | ArchitectureNow and hosted by the team at Kada, with support from Resene.

This was the second in-person edition of the Model Citizens event and this time the teams were tasked with creating a suspended light inspired by a celebrated building of their choice, using only the materials supplied on the night. Teams from various architecture practices assembled on Thursday 15 September at Kada’s showroom in Parnell to take up the challenge.

Supplies on hand were all recyclable or reusable to create a zero waste event. Materials included different colour palettes of  Resene drawdowns separated by sheets of butter paper, wire, plain paper, an LED light strip and various tapes and fastenings. (Bartering and bribery between teams was permitted).

Resene provided boxes of M&Ms and Kada prepared delicious canapés and then later Toto’s Pizza to keep the teams focused and an open bar for encouragement and inspiration. After a briefing from the organisers, the teams had a mere 2.5 hours to construct their suspended light and prepare a 90-second presentation, explaining their creation to the jury.

Although the competition was to be taken light-heartedly, we may have made the entrants a little sweaty with the jury selection this year. On the jury was Andrew Barrie (distinguished academic, writer and professor at the University of Auckland), multi-award-winning and celebrated lighting designer David Trubridge and Editor of ArchitectureNow, Jacinda Rogers.

In the spirit of the competition, teams were asked to come up with a team name (although the winning teams decided to focus on what they were doing). Bonus points went to teams ‘Comic SANNZ’ (SANNZ), ‘WaMchester United’ (Warren and Mahoney) and ‘Ministry’s Next Top Model’ (Ministry of Architecture+Interiors).

Credit for showmanship must be given to SGA who played opera music while presenting their light inspired by the Sydney Opera House, Warren and Mahoney for the bells that rung out during the presentation of their Christchurch Cathedral-inspired light, and SANNZ, whose speaker wore a sails headpiece and attempted to embody the Sydney Opera House at night.

The jury had only 15 minutes to deliberate after the teams’ presentations, with top points being given to teams whose designs referenced their chosen building most successfully, for technical and aesthetic success and the teams’ presentations. Bonus points went to designs where the treatment of light was most considered.

Ministry of Architecture+Interiors. Image:  David St George

Special mentions were given to Ministry of Architecture+Interiors for their two-piece design which incorporated movement via a pulley system, Architectus for their angular, asymmetrical design inspired by Futuna Chapel’s stained-glass windows, Athfield Architects for their buoyant and delicate long-drop-inspired light and SANNZ for the gusto behind their presentation.

Woods Bagot’s Cardboard Cathedral-inspired design won the Resene Colour Award (although only delicately coloured using pigment somehow extracted from the M&Ms), due to the beautiful diffused light the rolled butter paper form provided, the direct reference to recycled and sustainable materials used in their reference building and the excellent presentation given. They ended up with an aesthetically pleasing and meaningful suspended light, so well done Woods Bagot.

Taking out the top prize this year was Architecture + Women NZ, who by sheer coincidence ended up with a selection of pink drawdown cards to work with. The building that inspired their light was La Muralle Roha, by Ricardo Bofill. Their winning design was a rectilinear form comprised of layered card in various shades of pink, with cut-outs that created small apertures through to curated scenes which gave it a multi-dimensional appearance. The light that escaped through the card cut-outs was a clever solution to the opaque material provided.

Architecture + Women NZ putting the finishing touches to their creation. Image:  David St George

The end result was a curious light shade that reflected La Muralle Roha very well, was aesthetically pleasing and had a lantern-like treatment of light. A warm congratulations!

See below for photos of each light the teams created and the above slideshow for highlights from the event.

SWOT Team: Athfield Architects
Athfield Architects were the first to present with ‘The Long Drop’. A design harking back to a classic Kiwi back-country vernacular and the inhabitants of those places (human and bug)!

Team Athfield Architects’ ‘The Long Drop’. Image:  Amanda Harkness

A Team: SGA
Inspired by Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House, SGA used sail shapes with a splash of 2022’s colour of the year (purple) to create this dramatic design, fitting of the striking building. Opera music was played during their presentation for effect.

Team SGA was inspired by Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House. Image:  Amanda Harkness

Team Architecture + Women NZ
Congrats to Architecture + Women NZ, who took home the Model Citizens trophy for their light shade design inspired by La Muralle Roha by Ricardo Bofill. They nailed it!

Team Architecture + Women NZ’s Ricardo Bofill-inspired creation. Image:  Amanda Harkness

irRESPONDsible: Respond Architects
The team from Respond Architects created a light inspired by The Swiss Re Building aka ‘The Gherkin’ by Norman Foster. The design, a deconstructed iteration of this tower in London.

Team Respond Architects deconstructed the London ‘Gherkin’. Image:  Amanda Harkness

Ministry’s Next Top Model: Ministry of Architecture+Interiors
Ministry’s Next Top Model got some oohs and ahhs from the crowd with their light inspired by Bruder Klaus Field Chapel by Peter Zumthor. They put a unique New Zealand spin on their design by referencing the pīwakawaka’s (fantail’s) role in the Māori myth telling of Māui’s attempt to overcome death, which failed due to a fantail’s actions. The light inner element passes in and away from the fantail-shaped shade, alluding to the cycle of life and death which continues due to this manu.

Team Ministry of Architecture+Interiors gave the Bruder Klaus Field Chapel a unique Aotearoa spin by referencing the pīwakawaka. Image:  Amanda Harkness

A Team: Architectus
The ‘A Team’ created a light that was inspired by John Scott’s Futuna Chapel. The colours were reminiscent of the chapel’s stained glass windows and the dynamic, asymmetrical form was inspired by the angular spaces within the building.

Team Architectus paid homage to John Scott’s Futuna Chapel. Image:  Amanda Harkness

Team Woods Bagot
The winners of the Resene Colour Award (they transferred subtle colours to the paper using M&Ms provided by Resene). Their light shade was inspired by Shigeru Ban’s Cardboard Cathedral. Constructed using waste product paper, the design represents individuals coming together to do something greater, drawing a parallel to what is needed to fight the climate crisis.

Team Woods Bagot was inspired by Shigeru Ban’s Cardboard Cathedral. Image:  Amanda Harkness

WaMchester United: Warren and Mahoney
Inspired by the stained glass windows of Christchurch Cathedral by Sir George Gilbert Scott (and recently reinstated by Warren and Mahoney); the materiality inspired by Cardboard Cathedral by Shigeru Ban. Cathedral bell sound effects rang out during their presentation.

Team Warren and Mahoney referenced both the Christchurch Cathedral and the Cardboard Cathedral. Image:  Amanda Harkness

Bits of Everything: Context Architects, in association with Kada
Context Architects joined forces with Kada to create this light inspired by Patterson Associates’ Len Lye Centre and the Vitra Nuage vase by the Bouroullec Bros. The colours represent the Māori, Aboriginal and Pacific art showcased in the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.

Team Context Architects and Kada created a Len Lye Centre meets Vitra Nuage vase design. Image:  Amanda Harkness

Comic SANNZ: SANNZ
Team ‘Comic SANNZ’ was also inspired by the Sydney Opera House designed by Jørn Utzon. They envisioned a colourised version using vibrant colours that reflected its oceanside, urban location.

Team SANNZ also found inspiration in the Sydney Opera House, in a vibrantly coloured alternative world. Image:  Amanda Harkness

This year’s Model Citizens event raised $3000 for SolarAid and will provide 375 solar lights to sub-Saharan Africa, helping the organisation reach 2023 people, saving families money and giving children extra study time. It will also help decrease CO2 emissions and allow people to lead healthier lives.

Many thanks to the Model Citizens sponsors, Resene and Kada, for their support.


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