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Quality not quantity was the order of the day for local contenders at this month’s Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects’ Auckland Architecture Awards, with just two homes winning prizes this year – Swallow Point House and Tawharanui Pavilion.
Past competitions have seen at least half a dozen different new buildings from the area win awards, but while numbers were down in 2023, the quality of the local winners was exceptional.
Both homes are rural, low-profile and on the coast – one right on the Kaipara Harbour, the other overlooking Kawau Bay – and they have been designed deliberately to sit well within their natural surroundings.
Overall, there were a total of 57 winning designs in 12 categories at the awards, including 29 homes of every shape and style, from those with a tiny budget and footprint to others that were epic in both scale and cost.
The awards jury convener, Sloan Architects’ founder Patrick Sloan, said the calibre of work this year was high, even though many of the projects had been designed and delivered during the trying times of covid.
“These projects stand as testament to the determination and commitment of the architects, their clients, the consultants and the contractors in bringing these buildings to life,” he said.
“Great design outcomes often come from a light touch, as opposed to too much design, and we saw this in so many of the projects we reviewed.”
The 12 categories were: Commercial Architecture, Education, Enduring Architecture, Heritage, Hospitality, Housing, Housing – Alterations and Additions, Housing – Multi Unit, Interior Architecture, Planning & Urban Design, Public Architecture, and Small Projects, plus 11 Resene Colour Award winners.
Swallow Point House – Noel Lane Architects and Rowe Baetens Architecture, in association.
Designed by architects for an architect and his family, Swallow Point House is a large, but low-profile home that sits on the edge of the Kaipara Harbour.
Tucked into a hillside within a stone’s throw of the extraordinary giant sculptures of Gibbs Farm, the home consists of a series of seven connected pavilions linked by halls, passageways and courtyards that provide living and bedroom zones with privacy and seclusion, as well as incredible sea views and connection with the natural surroundings.
Judges praised a design approach that pursued simplicity over complexity and a finished property that blended seamlessly with the landscape.
“Significant in many ways, this project is also measured and sensitive,” they commented. “It talks to the architect’s deep appreciation of landscape, identity and a sensibility that effortlessly responds to context.”
Tawharanui Pavilion – Wendy Shacklock Architects
Overlooking Kawau Bay from the south west side of the Tawharanui Peninsula, this rural retreat manages to incorporate dramatic geometric rooflines without impinging on its natural surroundings.
There are two buildings set into a hillside, the main house and guest quarters, the overall design for which was inspired by a visit to Sri Lanka.
Judges said they were a finely crafted duo of buildings and praised the “carefully considered” rooflines, which are clearly visible when entering the property from a driveway above the site.
“Simplicity and complexity combine in this rural home, where the folded roof plane hovers above a sequence of internal rooms contained by three-quarter-height walls,” they said.
“The subtle, muted tones of natural-finish timber and board-form concrete to the interior sit quietly as a backdrop to long-range views out to sea.”
