The New Zealand Institute of Architects Southern Architecture Awards were held on 7 June in Queenstown, where 24 projects were celebrated.

The jury was made up of Invercargill architect Roger Beattie, Queenstown architects Bronwen Kerr and Mark Gray and Auckland architect Megan Rule. Awards ranged from a luxury wilderness lodge to university student accommodation and, of course, beautifully-sited homes.

Beattie said, “On our jury tour throughout Southland, Otago and Central Otago, we saw homes that were carefully tied to landscape and environment. In Dunedin, we were impressed by the great passion and care evident in heritage buildings restored for contemporary use. We also visited projects that were, put simply, quite sublime experiences.”

Winners: Housing

Halliday House by Eliska Lewis Architects

“Hunkered down from the street [this home is a] carefully planned and materially rich house” that is “cracked open by an internal courtyard that extends living spaces, brings light and air into bedrooms and dissolves hallways,” the jury said.

Alpine Terrace House by Fearon Hay Architects

The jury described this project as “dark, brooding and muscular”. They said, “This house sits like a silhouette in the foothills of the mountain”.

Hill House by Hyndman Taylor Architects

This home at Jack’s Point, was “an inspired piece of placemaking” the jury said, “designed to flow with the site’s topography”.

Little Brighton Beach House by Johnston Architects

The project is “finely perched near dunes, orientated to addresses the best aspects of the surrounding environment and to generate interesting architectural volumes,” the jury commented.

Blueskin Bay Retreat by Mason & Wales Architects

The jury praised this “encampment of three delightfully articulated pavilions” for its ability to “draw in the best vistas of nearby coastal inlets and a century-old kānuka grove while also providing excellent natural light and shade”.

Kōwhai House by Rafe Maclean Architects

This home shows a “difficult hillside site transformed by a simple yet compact layout and economical architecture”. The jury was impressed by the performance of the Passive House design, which “discretely incorporates a super-insulated building envelope and cleverly concealed ventilating system”.

Bob’s Cove House by RTA Studio

This row of boat house forms provides “an intriguing threshold between mountain and water,” the jury said.

Arrowtown House by RTA Studio

This is “a house for the ages – and a home for art – an exquisite configuration of living pavilions seemingly carved out of the Central Otago landscape,” according to the jury.

77 West Meadows by Three Sixty Architecture

The jury described this house, built around two “serene” courtyards, as a “stunning success”. “Three Sixty Architecture has worked with great skill to do justice to the poetry of the lakeside and mountainous landscape.”

Hidden Hills House by Warren and Mahoney Architects

This project demonstrates a “successful negotiation between the desire for views and the need for retreat,” the jury said. The house, which draws inspiration from the forms and colours of tramping huts, is “warm, compact and inviting”.

Winner: Housing – Alterations and Additions

Beggars Roost by Anna-Marie Chin Architects

“Subtle and thoughtful alterations to this 1960’s John Blair house set a fine example of how to add 21st century comfort and light, while staying true to the exposed structure and elegant form,” the jury noted.

Winners: Housing – Multi Unit

Stackbrae by Assembly Architects 

The jury noted that the architects’ careful planning gave the new neighbourhood a “cohesive quality that is greater than the sum of its parts”.

Otago Polytechnic Student Village – Te Pā Tauira by Mason & Wales Architects

This project is currently the largest Cross Laminated Timber project in New Zealand by volume. The jury said, “The façade is like a colourful ‘cloak of leaves’ that is always shifting. Inside the inviting and sunny common rooms have been created using a limited palette of materials that has been extended through a collaboration with artist Simon Kaan.”

Winners: Commercial Architecture

GWD Lexus Showroom by Anna-Marie Chin Architects

The jury described this project as a “gem” with “glistening sharp edges to mimic the jagged backdrop of The Remarkables, and scaly silver, textured skin derived from the marque’s high-tech brand”.

123 Vogel Street by McAuliffe Stevens Architects

“It is an accomplished example of how to breathe new life into old bricks,” the jury said.

Winners: Education

St David II Redevelopment – University of Otago by McCoy & Wixon Architects

This once “seismically compromised” building is now “an excellent example of an architect’s ability to create value through creative regenerative design”, according to the jury.

Mellor Laboratories Redevelopment by Parker Warburton Team Architects and Lab-Works Architecture

The jury commented: “Undeterred by a daunting brief that sought a complex functional programme to meet 21st century expectations, the architects have created a vibrant and technically sophisticated solution within the envelope of a 1970’s chemistry building.” 

Winner: Hospitality

Lindis Lodge by Architecture Workshop

This “exclusive high country retreat illustrates how a stunning location can be occupied almost by stealth”, the jury said. The undulating roofline impressed the jury with the way it was able to “bind the building with the land”.

Winner: Heritage

Jetty Street Development by McCoy & Wixon Architects

“It is a sensitive and cleverly crafted rejuvenation of a once dilapidated Dunedin corner building”, the jury noted.

Winner: Enduring Architecture

Intercultural Church Invercargill (1967) by Lewis Simpson Architect

The jury commented, “Simpson eschewed traditional church forms and imagery in favour of a rigorous, modernist design articulated with precast concrete and glass. Verging on stern and spare, the exterior belies the warm and calm repose of the interior, where a simple and cellular main worship area with minimal decoration is ready to be brought alive by minister and congregation.” 

Winner: Public Architecture 

Wanaka Sports and Aquatic Facility by Warren and Mahoney Architects

The building “almost dissolves into the dramatic landscape thanks to the exterior palette of blended metal and timber”, the jury commented. “It is a positive and accomplished piece of social infrastructure in an expanding and thriving town.” 

Winners: Small Project Architecture

Kirimoko Tiny House by Condon Scott Architects

This 30 square metre home is “inspired by a cycle trip and life lived out of panniers [and utilises] cleverly crafted spatial devices to pack a lot of punch into a small place,” according to the jury.

Te Kea Hut by Rafe Maclean Architects

“Every square centimetre of space is cleverly and delightfully used” in this holiday home, the jury noted. 

Bivvy House by Vaughn McQuarrie

The compact dwelling “follows the line of the hillside, bravely and unconventionally sloping down towards the view,” the jury said. “The interior is crafted with a charm that is addictive – slots between volumes and ‘fissures’ in the concrete walls allow you to move effortlessly between spaces; the shower is a literal waterfall cascading from a great height down moss coloured walls into a deep pool.”

All winners of the Southern Architecture Awards are eligible to win the New Zealand Architecture Awards, which are announced in November.