This unusual-looking west coast tower has won a national architecture award.
Video / Crosson Architects
It is robust, concrete, utilitarian and looks like it came out of a sci-fi film, yet already this tower has won a number of awards, shortlisted for a global prize in Portugal.
Today, Crosson Architects won a Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects national award for North Piha’s surf lifeguard tower, which it designed.
The architects were praised for their use of black oxide precast circular concrete pipe sections, which were stacked on top of each other to brace against the wind and make a strong visual statement at the black sand beach.
Like something out of a sci-fi film: the North Piha Te Pae surf lifesaving tower. Photo / Samuel Hartnett
The fit-for-purpose tower was a critical piece of infrastructure in the area, where other towers had succumbed to the extremely harsh conditions, the judges said, giving it one of two small project awards.
“A very functional and safe spiral staircase leads to the cantilevered watch house, its operable ribbon windows like a pair of wrap-around westie sunglasses providing views up and down North Piha’s rugged surf coast,” said the jurors, headed by Dave Strachan.
The tower was a finalist in last year’s World Architecture Festival in Lisbon, a finalist in this year’s Concrete NZ Nauhria Awards, a winner in the Architectural Concrete Award, and won a local award from the institute for the Auckland area this year.
Te Pae, the North Piha surf lifesaving club tower. Photo / Samuel Hartnett
“The brief was for a robust, low-maintenance building that would withstand the severe North Piha coastal environment. It needed to provide accommodation for four lifeguards with excellent visibility along the beach - a building that was functional and responded to its context,” Crossons said.
Another winner of the small project architecture category was a Nelson studio house designed by William Samuels Architects.
This Nelson studio house won a small project prize at the New Zealand Institute of Architects awards, announced on November 16. Photo / Mike Watson
All up, the institute announced 31 winners in 12 categories for awards, sponsored by Resene and APL and presented tonight at Wellington’s St James.
The housing category yielded the most winners this year, with five prizes won by C. Nott Architects, Herbst Architects, Irving Smith Architects, Sayes Studio and Upoko Architects.
Commercial project winners included Site 9 Kumutoto by Athfield Architects, which pays homage to Wellington’s port location, and WallÉ by Irving Smith Architects, praised for its use of natural light and ventilation to create a warm and healthy workspace.
Britomart's Hayman Kronfeld Building.
Peddle Thorp’s refurbishment of Britomart’s Hayman Kronfeld Building won a heritage award. So did Young Architects’ work renovating a 1950s block of Christchurch flats in Dorset St.
The Southern Aurora Substation (1972), designed by Allingham Harrison & Partners, won an enduring architecture award. So did Canterbury University’s Erskine Building (1998) by Architectus in association with Cook Hitchcock Sargisson and Royal Associates.
Bossley Architects won the planning and urban design category for its work designing upgrade
