Two New Zealand houses, one built and one conceptual, have taken home awards at this year’s World Architecture Festival, which ran 15–17 November in Berlin.

Irving Smith Architects, a Nelson practice, has won the Villa category with their Golden Bay house, Bach with Two Roofs. Originally built in a forest, after a 2014 cyclone the house was repaired and re-finished, with a shade building and new adaptable elements added that can be repositioned as the forest grows back.

Taking out the Future, Houses category was Queenstown House by Monk Mackenzie Architects. The six-bedroom house is designed to sit securely in the landscape, while at the same time bridging across a seasonal flood zone. 

Fearon Hay Architects was also recognised in this year’s awards, gaining Highly Commended in the Completed Buildings, Religion category for the stunning Bishop Selwyn Chapel in Parnell, Auckland.

There was more participation this year in the world’s largest architectural award program than ever before, with a total of 924 entries received from projects located in 68 countries across the world. Among them were 14 New Zealand projects from 9 practices.

See all 2017 World Architecture Festival winners here.

WAF is colocated with the 2017 Inside World Festival of Interiors. In the Creative Re-use category, Warren and Mahoney’s Mason Bros. Interior was awarded Highly Commended.

See the full list of winners from the 2017 Inside Awards here.