The Student Award category for the Interior Awards was an exciting new addition to the programme in 2015. The recipient of the inaugural award was Raimana Jones of the University of Auckland, who was up against some strong competition, with the judges commenting that “entrants surpassed every expectation we had when setting up the category.”

The award was presented at a packed-out social and networking awards evening at Auckland’s St-Matthew-in-the-city on 17 June.

Amidst a veritable bounty of young talent, Jones’ project Architecture of Coexistence: Regenerating Royal Oak through Urban Acupuncture impressed the judges so much that he took home the prize on the evening: a Minka Ip-designed trophy and a $1,000 cash prize. 

Architecture of Coexistence is a restorative solution for a suburban site dominated by vehicle traffic, which in turn creates a pedestrian nightmare in the Auckland community of Royal Oak.

Jones made carefully thought out additions and modifications to transform an inadequately developed area of Auckland. He states: “the scheme employs three variously scaled urban acupuncture procedures that would cooperate with the existing and past urban fabric of the site; rebalance porous and resistant spaces; and add density through modifying existing programs and the insertion of new ones.”

Jury Citation:

Our inaugural student award surpassed every expectation we had when setting up the category. Entrants succeeded at experimenting and doing so with a refreshing disregard for the limitations that designers encounter at later stages in the career. They wowed the judges with their wide-eyed belief that great design can help foster equally great communities. This winning entry, by Raimana Jones, is exemplary amongst such projects. Born from the desire to perform ‘urban acupuncture’ on a poorly developed corner of the Super City, Jones translated some exterior suburban elements into the interior through a series of beautifully researched and formed spaces. He made carefully considered interventions and additions to transform a forgotten enclave into a lively urban precinct. A mature, sophisticated, believable, and beautifully communicated project.

• Full coverage of 2015 Interior Awards winners here.
• Extended coverage and full jury citations can be found in the June 2015 issue of Interior magazine.