Architectural projects celebrating community and honouring New Zealand culture were among the winners of this year’s Nelson/Marlborough Architecture Awards, which were announced at the Theatre Royal Nelson last night (Thursday, 31 October).

The 13 award-winning buildings, scattered across the region from Blenheim to Nelson and down to the West Coast, ranged in scale from a sizeable museum and a public swimming pool to a tiny block of toilets in a busy city square.

Convenor of the jury, Nelson architect John Palmer, says the entries were of a consistently high standard and that it was “a real privilege” to experience them all.

“Nothing was awarded lightly,” Palmer says, noting that he his fellow jury members, architects Chris Kelly and Richard Sellars and artist Rose Shepard, spent three days travelling throughout the district to view 28 projects.

The jury was pleased to discover that several community projects were making a positive contribution in the public realm.

“It was good to see buildings such as the new Aquatic Centre in the Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000 becoming hubs of activity,” says Palmer.

Palmer added that this feel-good factor wasn’t restricted to municipal projects. Other types of building, such as Ukaipo – Rangitane Cultural Centre exemplified the community-building role of architecture. Palmer went on to say that the award given to Ukaipo was just as much an acknowledgement of clients who “embraced the project and made it part of their story.”

The significant contribution that high-quality architecture makes to people’s everyday lives was also illustrated in the well-populated Housing category. Palmer says it was humbling for the jury to meet clients in their homes and realise the enjoyment their properties brought them.

This appreciation wasn’t true of only new dwellings. An Enduring Architecture Award was given to a small house in St Arnaud designed more than 25 years ago. The building reminds us that “design from another age can still capture the same magic,” Palmer says.

Palmer observed that many of the winners in the 2013 Nelson/Marlborough Architecture Awards – an official, peer-reviewed programme run by the New Zealand Institute of Architects – were designed by architects based in other parts of the country.

“It’s interesting to see how practices from other places approach design in our region, and their presence is healthy for our local industry.”

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

Commercial Architecture

Hope Gardens of Remembrance Crematorium Caroline Crick
Jerram Tocker Barron Architects

Ukaipo Rangitane Cultural Centre
Wilkie + Bruce Registered Architects

Blenheim Pak’n’Save
McCoy and Wixon Architects

Interior Architecture

Nelson Radiology
Arthouse Architecture

Public Architecture

Aquatic Centre/Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000
Warren and Mahoney Architects

Coaltown Museum
Boon Goldsmith Bhaskar Brebner Team Architecture

Housing

Charleston Bach
Ian Cumberpatch Architects

Torea House
Tennent+Brown Architects

Sisson House – Stage 2
Borrmeister Architects

Havenview House
Kerr Ritchie

Leslie House
Matz Architects

Small Project Architecture

1903 Square Toilets
Jerram Tocker Barron Architects

Enduring Architecture

St Arnaud Cottage
Peter Wood Architect

Resene Colour Award recipients

Torea House
Tennent+Brown Architects

Coaltown Museum
Boon Goldsmith Bhaskar Brebner Team Architects

Charleston Bach
Ian Cumberpatch Architects