Educational buildings made a significant showing at the 2013 Wellington Architecture Awards, which were announced at Shed 6 last night (Thursday, 7 November).

This year’s strong complement of awards – 37 projects were recognised in the New Zealand Institute of Architects’ peer-reviewed programme – also indicates that the Global Economic Crisis may be releasing its grip on architectural and building activity.

“The projects awarded all met the client’s brief in creative ways,” said the Awards jury convenor Morten Gjerde, a senior lecturer at Victoria University’s School of Architecture.

The jury visited sites ranging from universities and shopping centres, to a car showroom and a Buddhist monastery and included architects Felicity Wallace and Arindam Sen, along with Wellington restaurateur Steve Logan, who, Gjerde said, brought a unique flavour to the judging process.

“Steve has an innate knowledge of what makes good architecture and he focussed on how people were able to respond and benefit from design,” Gjerde said. “When we visited any project that had a kitchen, he’d make a beeline for the owners and ask them about how well the design worked.”

Gjerde hopes the strength of the architecture commissioned by educational institutions will have wider influence. Citing the efforts of Architectus and Athfield Architects in creating a new campus hub to replace “the old windswept quadrangle” at Victoria University, Gjerde said that “with exposure to such good work, society as a whole might start to demand better quality from buildings.”

Another theme noted by the jury is the richness of the palette of materials now being used. Gjerde said architects are combining natural materials such as stone and timber with engineered ones like concrete and steel with impressive aesthetic results.

Gjerde said the shortage of heritage projects in the Awards is a concern. “There’s a huge demand for space in Wellington city and updated heritage buildings could be useful contributors to the urban buzz.”

“I hope we’ll find ways to repurpose these buildings to celebrate their qualities so that the recent incidents of demolition by neglect won’t be repeated,” he said.

Awards were given out across 9 categories, with the winners being:

Commercial Architecture

Johnston Ebbett Holden Showroom
Chow:Hill Architects Ltd

Kapiti Coast District Council Administration Building
Designgroup Stapleton Elliott

The Lighthouse Cinema Cuba: Cuba Street, Wellington City
John Mills Architects with Spencer Holmes Engineers

Waiata House: Masterton
Proarch Architects Ltd

Royal Society Campus: Thorndon, Wellington
Studio of Pacific Architecture Limited

Education

VUW Campus Hub and Library Upgrade
Architectus and Athfield Architects

Scots College Hodge Sports Centre
Athfield Architects Limited

Scots College Creative and Performing Arts Centre
Athfield Architects Limited

Massey University Te Ara Hihiko College of Creative Arts
Athfield Architects Ltd

New Learning Hub: Island Bay
Don Jamieson Architecture Ltd

Heretaunga College
Opus Architecture

Ngā Purapura: Otaki
Tennent + Brown Architects Ltd

Enduring Architecture

A House at the Beach, Te Horo
Moller Architects

Housing

Altair Townhouse Development
architecture +

Mangaroa House: Upper Hutt
ballara bullman chin | bbc architects

Tui House: Melrose, Wellington
John Mills Architects

Strathmore Ridge House: near Lyall Bay
Kerr Ritchie Limited

Central Park Apartments
Novak + Middleton Limited

Seatoun Heights House
Parsonson Architects

Lowry Bay House
Parsonson Architects

Seaview House: Northland
Parsonson Architects

Newtown Park Apartments
Studio of Pacific Architecture

Telford Terrace Studio: Oriental Bay, Wellington
Tennent + Brown Architects Ltd

Haunui House: Tawa
Tennent + Brown Architects Ltd

Eastbourne House
Tennent + Brown Architects Ltd

Interior Architecture

Maori Women’s Developments Inc. Office
Herriot + Melhuish: Architecture Ltd (HMA)

Planning and Urban Design

Taranaki Street Kiosk
Athfield Architects Limited

Dowse Square
Athfield Architects Limited

Lambton Square Shopping Centre Refurbishment
Jasmax Limited

Public Architecture

Bodhinyanarama Buddhist Monastery – Reception Sala
Tennent + Brown Architects Ltd

National Library of New Zealand
Warren and Mahoney Architects Ltd

Small Project Architecture

Eastbourne Public Toilets
bevin + slessor architects limited

Corrondella
BOX Living Ltd

54 Tennis Court Road
Geoff Fletcher Architects Ltd

Kapiti Beach House – Stage 2
Geoff Fletcher Architects Ltd

Dowse Art Museum – New Foyer
Mary Daish Architect

Novak + Middleton Office: Wellington CBD
Novak + Middleton Limited

Sustainable Architecture

Massey University Te Ara Hihiko College of Creative Arts
Athfield Architects Limited

Newtown Park Apartments
Studio of Pacific Architecture Limited