Nine projects were recognised in the 2024 Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Nelson and Marlborough Awards on 7 June at Nelson’s Trafalgar Centre.

An epic house more than 10 years in the making, a utilitarian boat shed, and a public building that revitalises Blenheim’s town centre are among the 2024 winners.

“Projects in this year’s awards have weathered unprecedented conditions including extreme weather events, supply chain issues, spiralling costs and COVID,” says Euan MacKellar, convenor of the jury. “Despite the unforeseen challenges, architects managed to hold onto key concepts, maintain good design and foster strong relationships with their clients and builders — a credit to the profession.”

The Lookout, a home that stands out in the Tasman landscape like a piece of contemporary sculpture, thanks to its rusty red exterior and Brutalist form, is a fine example of the region’s award-worthy projects. Designed by Parsonson Architects, the building is bold, dramatic and meticulously detailed. Similarly, Longbeach Bay Boatshed by Arthouse Architects, a winner in the Small Project Architecture category, is striking in its modernity. A “very strong and well-proportioned form with a minimal material palette takes inspiration from the existing home and its triple gable,” said the jury. “While its primary function is boatshed, multi-use is its mantra. It’s a kitchen, bar, dining hall and wind break.”

In the Public Architecture category, Marlborough District Library and Art Gallery | Te Kahu o Waipuna is the sole winner. Designed by Warren and Mahoney, the civic building is reinvigorating Blenheim’s High Street with its bronzed exterior and flexible interior layout. It also received a Resene Colour Award. 

A jury of four judges — Matt Gutsell of Sheppard & Rout Architects, Magdalena Garbarczyk of Fineline Architecture, architect Helena Alexander from Alexander Romagnoli, and lay juror landscape architect, Heidi Stewart — assessed this year’s projects, along with convenor Euan MacKellar.

The winning projects are:

Housing

Anakiwa House by Arthouse Architects

From afar the house is almost invisible in the landscape. The journey to the site is steep and too difficult for anything other than a 4WD drive, which creates a certain amount of anticipation. Arrival at the south-facing court reveals hints of craftsmanship and the architecture to come. An undulating roofscape reflects context and cascades down the slope to either deny or celebrate views to Queen Charlotte Sound and the surrounding hills. Planning allows the home to be a comfortable primary dwelling for two yet have the capacity to embrace gatherings of family and friends. A variety of indoor and outdoor living areas provide shelter from the elements and cosy nooks for retreat.

Two Gables by First Light Studio

At first glance the house seems to be cut from the same cloth of its new subdivision typology. But appearances can be deceptive. Built on a low budget for a home designed to passive house principles, the outcome delivers a lot and should be seen as an exemplar for what could and should be our future — designing and building to passive house standards and applying these principles to mass development. Simple gable forms are carved, scaled and layered to create a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces. Timber was sourced from family farms and stones in the floor from the owners’ former home in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

House with Hat by Irving Smith Architects

Deliberately understated, this house slips unnoticed into its neighbourhood. Once inside the front gate, landscaping calmly guides you to the entrance. The interior is a delight of spatial variations that celebrate timber and connection to landscape. A compact footprint is made richer by the generosity of the lush, terraced garden. Planning allows the house to work for different scenarios, to wrap its owners in private embrace or open up for larger gatherings. It is crafted perfection.

The Lookout by Parsonson Architects

This project was conceived of more than a decade ago, and now stands as testament to the owners’ appreciation for regional modernist architecture and their desire for a design that would consider the different views offered by the site. We experienced the house in an empty state with its new occupants’ boxes ready to unpack. The experience was so rich that it was difficult to register the house as uninhabited or empty. From a distance, the structure is bold presence and arrival is dramatic. Once inside, the scale change embraces and calms the soul. Detailing is meticulous, and every now and then there are quirks that should be out of place yet define the home’s relaxing qualities.

Resene Colour Award

While the raw exterior richness contrasts and connects with the landscape, it’s inside where colours are most striking and vibrant. Confident use of vibrant pinks, reds, oranges and greens complement the timber veneers and give natural light a warm glow and a touch of playfulness that’s perfectly balanced and controlled.

Public Architecture

Marlborough District Library and Art Gallery | Te Kahu o Waipuna by Warren and Mahoney Architects

This civic project sets the precedent for development along Blenheim’s High Street and creates a vibrant community hub. Scaled to fit its context, the form reflects the surrounding hills and mountains. The blended programmes of gallery and library result in a successful symbiotic relationship that increases patronage to both, with numbers suggesting the ‘Bilbao Effect’ effect is revitalising the city. In a six-month period, about 330,000 visitors — 10 times Blenheim’s population — attended the new facility. Spaces are flexible and efficient and cater to a wide array of activities, while spatial arrangement provides places to sit, read or socialise. The façade provides enough transparency to maintain connection with the outdoors versus capacity for retreat and contemplation within.

Resene Colour Award

From its bronze cloak to honeyed walls, the exterior and interior are in harmony. Natural light is uplifting inside and rich — but not too rich — tones are scattered for colour interest in seating and nooks.

Small Project Architecture

Longbeach Bay Boatshed by Arthouse Architects

A very strong and well-proportioned form with a minimal material palette take inspiration from the existing home and its triple gable. While its primary function is boatshed, multi-use is its mantra. It’s a kitchen, bar, dining hall, and wind break. Every detail is considered and every item has its place. The building is high-tech in nature but the judges enjoyed the juxtaposition of low-tech solutions, such as timber stump door tiebacks and winch modifications to allow one person to launch and store the boat.

The Studio by Johnstone Callaghan Architects

Conceived of as a sculptural response to the artist-owner’s needs, the architects have succeeded the brief, according to their client. “I feel one hundred percent of my cells harmonise at a beautiful frequency in this space,” she says of her new art studio. The robust box sits low to retreat in the site and is designed to weather whatever nature brings. The studio is future proofed to provide options for the owners, should they choose to downsize from the current, adjacent home as needs change.

Commercial Architecture

Waimea Nurseries Fieldwork by Irving Smith Architects

This project raises questions about what architecture is, where it is needed and why. The essence of this project is about place, connection and interaction. A collection of farm-ready buildings set the scene for simple architectural interventions that bring people together. Entry points from the field are at the corners, and new and existing buildings are bound by social spaces. Management and reception areas sit among field-worker spaces, barriers of hierarchy are stripped back and all social interaction is encouraged to take place outside and between buildings. Reconciling level changes between buildings presented opportunities for pathways and optional places for connection.

Nelson Orthodontics Richmond Practice by redbox architects

This building has been imagined with the future in mind. The client’s vision was to create a centre for medical excellence in an accessible location. Scaled to sit comfortably on a busy road within a residential setting, the building’s main façade is adorned with Haumanu, a work by artist Robin Slow that connects the building to place and whenua. The intricate screen provides privacy within the clinic and landscaping at the entrance presents a calm welcome. Inside, the soothing experience continues in soft colours, dappled light and a planted wall that extends through both levels of the building.

The NZIA Architecture Awards programme is supported by Resene and APL.