AGM Publishing is proud to announce Architecture New Zealand magazine has been named supreme award winner of New Zealand’s magazine cover awards, The Maggies 2014.

The March/April 2014 cover, designed by Sara Black and photographed by Jason Mann, was voted by the public to win Magazine Cover of the Year 2014, as well as taking out the Business & Trade category.

“Winning the Maggies Cover of the Year Award is a wonderful achievement, especially since 15,000 members of the public voted this year; it seems that the cover really resonated with people,” Architecture New Zealand magazine editor Justine Harvey says.

The cover features the Coastlands Aquatic Centre, a swimming-pool complex in Paraparaumu, designed by ASC Architects.

“Photographer Jason Mann depicted the sculptural quality of the Coastlands Aquatic Centre in the dusky light of a coastal landscape – we love its enigmatic and cinematic qualities which evokes the epic environments we are very privileged to enjoy here in New Zealand. Our designer Sara Black avoided text on the cover, simply allowing the image to evoke the story,” Harvey says. “This approach is a deliberate editorial and design strategy, that differs from many architectural publications around the world, because we feel that it is important to highlight that the best of New Zealand architecture sits contextually within our stunning landscape.”

The Maggies is a national poll to celebrate and award the best magazine covers of 2014. The awards is a high-profile competition voted for by the general public and supported by New Zealand’s leading magazine trade body, Magazine Publishers Association.

The Maggies were shortlisted by a panel of industry heavyweights, including Julian Andrews, Commercial Director of Magazine Publishers New Zealand, and Jude Dobson, TV Presenter and Producer. This shortlist was then put to a public vote via www.themaggies.co.nz, where over 15,000 votes were cast during a five week period.

Julian Andrews said of the winning cover, “The decision to leave off any text other than the masthead means the undulating balloon-like dome of the Coastlands Aquatic Centre near Wellington threatens to float out of this minimalist cover. Like the best front pages the world has to offer, this execution is attention-grabbing and yet breathtakingly simple at the same time. On behalf of our industry, I salute the winner and all the other publications that entered.”

The Nov/Dec 2013 issue of Architecture New Zealand was also shortlisted in the Business & Trade category this year, while, In 2013, the magazine won the Business & Trade category award for its November/December 2012 cover.