An opportunity to showcase the incredible talents of the Architectural Designers New Zealand community, the annual awards draw entries from across the country, with a huge number of ADNZ members partaking in the awards programme.
The 2021 judging panel was comprised of four independent and well-regarded judges including; Professor Andre Brown, Dennis Winter, Dr Fleur Palmer, and Rebecca Long.
Professor Andre Brown has been the Head of the Wellington School of Architecture since 2019. With an extensive background in architectural education, Andre has taught in many cities around the world during his rich career and has been Editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Architectural Computing for almost 20 years.
Dennis Winter is a practicing Architect and a tutor at Ara Institute of Canterbury teaching the New Zealand Diploma in Architectural Technology. Most recently Dennis has assisted in the development of the Bachelor of Architectural studies.
Dr Fleur Palmer is an Architect and Associate Professor of Architecture at AUT. Through her teaching and research practices, Fleur focuses on promoting indigenous thinking to honour our relationship to the Tiriti o Waitangi.
Rebecca Long is Resene’s Design Advocate and our judge of the Resene Colour in Design Award. With an extensive background in design and working closely alongside the architectural sector, Rebecca is well versed in how the use of colour can truly bring a space to life.
Judging of all entries was spread over two and a half days of intense deliberation and discussion. With hundreds of projects submitted from many categories including residential, commercial, and alterations, the judging process was no easy feat.
Rebecca enjoyed seeing the creative and innovative use of colour throughout the entries;
“The level of entry was extremely high. It was such a pleasure to view and admire such forward thinking architecture. There were many incredible entries that used colour to elevate their projects”.
There is not always a set criteria when selecting a winning entry, projects often stand out for a range of reasons. Andre described what he was looking for when selecting a winning entry;
“Design outcomes that reveal one of, or a combination of, excellent co-design, culturally and socially appropriate responses, smart application of technology and produce a well-crafted outcome. Choosing winners in such competitions is often extraordinarily difficult”.
An enduring trend throughout this year's entries was sustainability.
“One of the reassuring aspects was to see the extent of the application of various forms of sustainable design. It was very pleasing to see passive approaches, and an inventive mix of other approaches to producing designs that are more sustainable”, said Andre.
Rebecca saw a strong relationship between the designs and the environment.
“There was definitely a strong connection to nature with plenty of raw, rich dark timber seen throughout multiple projects.”
Regional award winners will be announced in July and August at regional award dinners, with national award winners being announced at the ADNZ National Conference in October in Dunedin. To head along and be part of the celebrations click the links below to find out more.