Model Citizens 2023 highlights
Congrats to this year’s winning team from SANNZ. Pictured from left: Sahil Tiku, Adam Collett, Cecelia Kuang, Rohan Sadhu and Evana Chan.
The winning team from SANNZ with Kada’s Vitra toolbox prize and the Model Citizens trophy. From left: Evana Chan, Adam Collett, Cecelia Kuang, Amanda Greenslade (Resene representative), Rohan Sadhu and Sahil Tiku.
Resene supplied materials and drawdowns for the teams, as well as generously sponsoring the team from SANNZ.
In line with the event’s zero-waste aims, Laminex supplied custom-slotted shapes out of Seratone off-cuts that could be configured in multiple ways.
The team from Ignite looking slick in black. From left: Ryan Quach, Stuart McKechnie, Gerry Terrell, Fabian Leclercq, Friedrich Strey and Shirley Croft.
The team from Ignite Architects at work.
Team Ignite’s model.
The newly-opened Grimshaw NZ studio joined in on the fun. From left: Jamie Griffiths, Raphael Dinglasan, James Browning (top), Sarah Song, Jessica Rust and Matthew Sao.
Grimshaw’s sculptural design taking shape.
Matthew Sao from Grimshaw presents his team’s creation.
Ministry of Architecture + Interiors returned this year with their team, pictured with judge Matt Liggins (far left): Rasha Al Assafi, Alastair Kay, Will Christie (top), Jannyne Bianco and Nicole Dealey.
The team from Ministry of Architecture + Interiors present to the group.
‘The eighth wonder of the world’, a model by Ministry of Architecture + Interiors.
Team Moller. From left: James McNicholas, Craig Moller, Norman Wei, Vanessa Coxhead, Florence Delisle and Anthony Washer.
Vanessa Coxhead from Moller Architects presents her team’s creation.
Moller Architects’ model included miniatures of a whale and a giant squid.
The team from Tailor Inc. From left: Julie Coutts, Nicky Wood, Bo Hermans, Sofia Radals, Bonnie Fawcett and David Muir.
Tailor Inc present, with their model in the foreground.
A detail from Tailor Inc’s model.
The team from Warren and Mahoney. From left: Nicholas Besuyen, Bailen Thatcher, Kate Stanley, Karolina Bihun, Fynbar Heron and Ameesh Morar.
Warren and Mahoney’s model. Up the Wahs!
The team from Warren and Mahoney placed great focus on the detail.
The team from Architecture+Women.NZ (A+W.NZ): From left: Katie Simmonds (Walker Group), Kaea Kerkin (Te Whatu Ora), Wing Chan (PTG Architecture), Selena Sager (Agent of Architecture), Kelly Ting (a student) and Charlotte Dunning (Warren and Mahoney).
Charlotte Dunning from Warren and Mahoney presents on behalf of A+W.NZ.
Last year’s winners, A+W.NZ brought their A-game this year again with this model.
Details from A+W.NZ’s model.
Team Woods Bagot. From left: Craig Hopkins, Charlotte Smith, Kairangi Ama, Jihwan Jeon and Robinson Yang.
The team from Woods Bagot’s underwater and under-table creation was revealed through fringing, referencing the ocean’s breaking waves.
The Jasmax team. From left: Hamish Stirrat, Bronte Tricker, Icao Tiseli, Nick Johnston, Kahurangi Eruera and Callum Dowie.
Kahurangi Eruera presents on behalf of team Jasmax.
Jasmax’s road cone and rugby-inspired landmark, completed by a Warriors utility forward.
The team from SANNZ with their winning design. From left: Evana Chan, Cecelia Kuang, Sahil Tiku, Rohan Sadhu and Adam Collett.
SANNZ’s winning design included Mayor Brown’s personal seaside tennis court, a spot for all the “drongos” and a huge bucket for emptying the city of its floodwaters.
The team from JBT Architects. From left: Andras Bognan, Lily Zhao, Kelly Boyd, Patrick Sherwood, Nadine Molving and Jenny Wang.
JTB Architects created this little tower with slide surrounded by the sea.
The teams gather around to listen to presentations.
The judges deliberate. From left: Chris Barton, Matt Liggins and Kim Paton.
Announcing the winners! From left: Kim Paton, Chris Barton, Matt Liggins and Karmen Hoare of Resene, who presented all the teams with their prizes.
A big thanks to the great people from Kada, Laminex, Resene, Architecture NZ and ArchitectureNow who made the night such a success.
Model Citizens 3.0, an AGM event in association with ArchitectureNow and Architecture NZ magazine as part of Aotearoa Festival of Architecture 2023.
This year’s Model Citizens event, held as part of the Aotearoa Festival of Architecture programme, saw 11 teams from architecture practices and organisations gather together at Kada’s showroom in Auckland’s Parnell for a friendly, fun-filled object-making competition.
Model Citizens was first held in 2019, and teams from across the architectural design spectrum compete to win the coveted title and trophy, first won by Athfield Architects.
Judging the night’s creations this year were Matt Liggins (artist, architect and provocateur), Kim Paton (director at Objectspace) and Chris Barton (editor, Architecture NZ).
The teams of six were asked to “dream big” along the lines of Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) Aarhus Havnebadet-inspired dream for an open-air swimming pool along Auckland’s Bledisloe Wharf.
Points were awarded for:
- The best use of colour and technical building skills
- The best overall aesthetic appeal
- Size and general ‘wow-ness’
- The team’s 1.5-minute presentation
- Bonus points were also awarded arbitrarily by the judges
The teams had only two hours to brainstorm, devise and construct their interpretation of what this landmark structure on the city’s soon-to-be reclaimed waterfront land might look like.
To put their creativity and design skills to the test, the teams were provided with waterjet-cut slotted shapes of Seratone by Laminex, Resene coloured drawdowns and double-sided tape to create the forms.
Taking away the big blue trophy this year was the team from SANNZ. The trophy was won last year by Architecture+Women NZ .
Delicious food and drinks were provided by generous hosts Kada and event partners Resene and Laminex.
All proceeds from this year’s Model Citizens event, approximately $3300, will be donated to the Auckland City Mission.
Model Citizens 2023 was brought to you by ArchitectureNow and Architecture New Zealand magazine with the generous support of event partners Resene, Kada and Laminex. The zero-waste for-charity event coincides with NZIA’s Auckland Architecture Festival.
