Jury Commentary

Named Award citation:

“Sometimes functional and pragmatic buildings can elicit a business-as-usual architectural response. This is anything but. Much of the materials and labour were gifted by the locals, reflecting a generosity of spirit in a small community. Te Pae, as it catches the light following the path of the sun and becomes a brooding presence at night, now stands as a guardian embodying a true spirit of place.”

Small Project Award citation:

“Aotearoa’s wild West Coast has claimed many lives over the years, making a fit-for-purpose lifeguard tower a critical piece of the community’s infrastructure. With a history of their towers succumbing to the extremely harsh marine environment, form and material selection were paramount for the largely volunteer surf life-saving teams. The selection of black oxide pre-cast circular concrete pipe sections stacked upon one another, not only deflects the wind, but provides a strong response to the context of the local black sands. A very functional and safe spiral staircase leads to the cantilevered watch house, its operable ribbon windows, like a pair of wraparound Westie sunglasses, providing views up and down North Piha’s rugged surf coast.”

Project team:

Ken Crosson, Jerome Buckwell, Sam Knight.

crosson.co.nz

The New Zealand Architecture Awards receive generous support from Resene, a steadfast sponsor of the program since 1991, and APL, which commenced its sponsorship of the awards in 2021.