The 2019 iteration of the New Zealand Institute of Architects Festival of Architecture was a full 10 days of events from Auckland to the Waikato to Queenstown and Otago. With talks, tours, movie screenings and more, events fostered important discussions among professionals and the public alike about issues like climate change, housing, gender equality and more.

See our first round of coverage here and continue reading for more round-ups from around the country.

Model Citizens – Auckland

As part of the New Zealand Institute of Architects Festival of Architecture, Architecture New Zealand and ArchitectureNow presented the Model Citizens competition. Teams of 3-5 people from 10 firms gathered at the IMO showroom in Parnell where they were briefed and given a mere two and a half hours and a share of nearly 200kgs of white Lego blocks to create something magnificent.

And, magnificent is a fitting description. Our team here at ArchitectureNow was skeptical about just how seriously the teams would take their task. When we saw grown adults running across the venue with hands cupped around Lego blocks – stray pieces overflowing onto the floor as they made their way back to their stations – we knew that no mercy would be shown.

Read the full review here.

AAA Public Good design competition: Dominion Road Flyover – Auckland

The Auckland Architecture Association (AAA) ran its first Public Good urban design competition at the Festival of Architecture this year. Aiming to generate ideas from architects, urban designers, students and the public to fix up some of the nastier parts of the inner city. The focus this year was the Dominion Road Flyover, a mini-motorway interchange from the 1960s.

Participants were encouraged to reimagine it reclaimed from traffic and better accommodating pedestrians and cycles and perhaps green space, housing or mixed use. A one night-only event saw a dozen entries exhibited. The organisers’ were keen that the plans and images spoke for themselves so verbal presentations were limited to a one-minute pitch after which over forty in attendance voted for the schemes they thought best.

The winners were a team from Boffa Miskell led by Dave Parker with their project Lava Fields. Parker explains, “The Lava Fields transform the precinct through the reintegration of public life and becomes a place for all types of people and uses. Future residential development around the site is supported by the rolling meadows and native forests, as well as social amenities such as playgrounds, skating, urban farming and, of course, a brewery.” See more about the winning project at boffamiskell.co.nz.

University of Auckland architecture students Meihan Li in second place and Ricci Harker and Reuben Jenkin taking third equal.

Intended as an annual event, it is hoped that this competition, with a different target each
year, can promote improvements in the urban environment to the public and politicians,
inspiring some action. Anyone with ideas on next year’s site is welcome to get in touch –
unfortunately Auckland has plenty of places needing improvement.

– Bill McKay, Chair of the Auckland Architecture Association

Making Ways at Objectspace: Breakfast interview with Unit Y – Auckland

Making Ways is a live, rolling event of hybrid studios, labs, wānanga, that tests the architectural exhibition format with weekly installations by four different architectural practices in the Objectspace gallery. Curated by Kathy Waghorn, the dynamic of the exhibition identifies that urgent challenges facing the contemporary built realm are drawing out new forms of architectural practice in Aotearoa/New Zealand. As part of the Making Ways exhibition Waghorn also curated a series of interviews with the exhibition practitioners and other architectural critical thinkers and collectives.

In the first in the University of Auckland’s Fast Forward Breakfast Series hosted by Objectspace, Unit Y lead, architect and University of Auckland lecturer Mike Davis, together with three members of the four women collective Maunga Pac: Lucy Vete, Icao Tiseli, Matilda Phillip were interviewed by Waghorn on the spaces they are forging for themselves within the wider architectural context.

Click here to read more from University of Auckland lecturer Karamia Müller.

Makers Fabrication Factory Tour – Wellington

Located in the depths of Gracefield’s industrial park, a fully subscribed group of enthusiastic tour attendees gathered outside Shed 6, ready for the Makers Fabrication workshop tour. The group were introduced and led through the Makers Fabrication space, prefabrication processes and digital and physical facilities by company directors Grant Douglas and Ben Sutherland.

Interest and discussion developed around the relationship between Makers Fabrication and Makers of Architecture, as well as workflow to support prefabrication and industry collaboration. The physical facilities in the space, such as the CNC machine and gantry system, directed an understanding of production and material processing from pre-framing through to the completion of wall panels with cladding and glazing units, installed ready for on-site delivery and assembly.

Ben and Grant talked through areas of compliance for prefabricated panelisation and how this is managed through Quality Assurance (QA) procedures. Here, they utilise an evidence based approach: a consolidated drawing management system, including photographs embedded within the documentation to support the issuing of Producer Statements.

Learnings were shared around manufacturing tolerance, the constraints and benefits of prefabrication and digital manufacturing as well as collaborative opportunities. The tour wrapped up on a future focussed discussion, where Makers Fabrication’s vision, continued research and development were shared, outlining the continued closed loop ‘data capture/use’ and preparation for future robotic panelised manufacturing.

– Beth Cameron, Makers of Architecture director

2x2 – Tauranga

Bubble Interiors and Modern Office’s new fitout at Boffa Miskell’s Tauranga studio was the perfect stage for a relaxed yet provocative evening of quick fire presentations on city revitalisation.

The themes that resonated with me were that we have a fabulous city with all the bones in place to become something very special and there is huge creativity in our people here. Small design moves such as biophillic insertions, ecological restoration, or activation elements can have a big and lasting impact and our transport choice is essential in enabling a walkable city. Experiential design needs to consider a broad range of needs, and can become a deeply personalised response

The range of presentations from landscape and urban design to architecture, were made possible through a partnership between NZIA and NZILA who are benefiting from closer collaboration in the Bay of Plenty.

– Shara Paulo, Ignite Architects

Urban Te Papa – Tauranga

The Waikato University Tauranga Campus together with RCP, Maven, and Ignite Architects hosted a thought provoking series of presentations looking at how the Te Papa Peninsula might progress into the future while challenged by significant growth.

It was incredibly reassuring to learn the cogs are already in motion, with a national requirement for Tauranga to maintain an urban strategy, and local work underway to amend the city plan such that intensification can occur in the CBD. I see Te Papa peninsula as being designed for growth with it’s regular grid street structure lending itself to mixed use and intensification. Grant Armstrong’s presentation on ‘big and small’ projects sparked my curiosity – how can we enable these strategic moves in Tauranga?

I was shown at this event that Te Papa Peninsula has been identified by Tauranga City Council for growth for a number of reasons other than it’s suitable street structure, including its relative resilience from natural disaster, a key consideration for sustainable growth. Tauranga is starting to acknowledge its cultural history through individual creative insertions in the CBD such as Maori artwork and sculpture. However, our collective local history generally remains rich and desperately under told. With a high percentage of Maori living in the peninsula, our CBD is perfectly placed to offer a more elaborate and involved level of narrative; a story we can infuse in our future urban landscape and architecture.

– Shara Paulo, Ignite Architects

Cultural Tour – University of Waikato: Tauranga Campus

An inspiring talk from Joseph Macfarlane of the University of Waikato (UoW) captured his audience from the start. His in-depth tour talked about how crucial the initial meetings between the architects and the local Māori communities are. The collaboration of skills and knowledge can create a contemporary building while vibrantly showcasing Maori culture. With continued engagement throughout the design process, a truly unique design can be conjured.

Joseph told stories of resilience, strength, determination, care, love, collaboration, peace and community connection and discussed how important these are to the Maori culture and traditions. Respecting the land and the people that inhabit it only continues to tap into the true needs and wants of the communities near and far. These strong values in the Māori culture can be embedded into every part of the design of a building. What makes these particularly fitting to the university is that these have created the founding values expected from every student who walks their journey at the University.

Some key traditions can create intriguing designs such as that of the hammerhead shark in the case of the UoW Tauranga CBD campus. It has played several roles in ancient Māori culture, predominantly known as a guardian spirit. The designer has encased the facade in the shapes, forms and colours of the shark, thus bringing protection to all of those who walk within the walls of the university. The clever use of repetition creates a bold statement with fascinating lighting and reflection both inside and out.

– Danielle Cumming, Ignite Architects

Nelson events

We kicked the festival off with a public lecture, with our local festival theme of “People Places”. The lecture included two fantastic presentations from Architects Jasper van der Lingen (Sheppard & Rout Architects) & Nat Cheshire (Cheshire Architects). The lecture was attended by 70 people, which is a fantastic turn out for little old Nelson.

Pop Up Space: This was a Nelson Festival first and worked really well at engaging the public. We designed six interactive activity stations which included two big maps of Nelson CBD: one for people to put stickers on of what they love in the CBD, and the second for what people want to see more of in the CBD. Excitingly, most people wanted to see housing in the city centre, more bike paths, more green space and more connection to water. It was great to see the amount of stickers put on the Port & Marina area, where people want to introduce more public space, housing, restaurants and cycle ways.

The Edible Architecture Cake Competition was tonnes of fun! We got 10 entries and saw a fantastic variety of cakes, including the Wow Museum (x2), Isel House (x2), a clock tower, Pics Peanut Butter Factory (x2), a rainbow bridge, a colourful village and an ambitious Ronchamp chapel! The judges were renowned architect and sweet tooth Brian Riley, along with Michelin-star chef Kevin Hopgood. Judged on taste, use of colour, wow factor and architectural relevance, Ronchamp came out on top. There were two winners in the under 13 category and Jerram Tocker Barron Architects won the people’s choice award with their Pics Peanut Butter Factory. Overall, the cake comp was a hit and may just become a yearly occurrence!!

– Renée Williamson, Arthouse Architects, Nelson Festival of Architecture Coordinator