The previously derelict Ridgway Chambers building has been converted into a gallery space and apartments. Photo / Steve Caudwell
The previously derelict Ridgway Chambers building has been converted into a gallery space and apartments. Photo / Steve Caudwell
Whanganui's revamped Ridgway Chambers has won a prestigious award for heritage architecture.
The formerly derelict building on the corner of Ridgway St and Drews Ave was bought by Hadleigh Reid in 2018 and converted into a gallery space and apartments designed by Drawing Room Architecture & Design.
The heritage awardwas one of 16 presented at Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Western Awards, which cover the Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatū regions, at a ceremony in New Plymouth on Friday night.
Judges described Ridgway Chambers as "contributing to the reactivation of a leafy CBD area earmarked for future urban regeneration".
Drawing Room Architecture & Design is a local practice, led by architect Elinor Harvey McDouall, which is also responsible for the Whanganui and Manawatū Plunket hub, the Whanganui public library's reinvigoration, and the fit-out of Sarjeant on the Quay.
Te Matapihi Bulls Community Centre was recognised in the public architecture category.
Photo / Grant Davis
Marton-based Felicity Wallace Architects' "Small Town House" was one of the winners in the housing category.
Three enduring architecture awards were presented, celebrating buildings 25 years or older that have stood the test of time.
One of the recipients was the 1984 Eddie Belchambers-designed Officers Barracks and Mess building at Waiouru Military Camp. The rarely-seen wood and concrete structure cascades down a forested hillside, with spectacular views of Mt Ruapehu.
The Waiouru Military Camp Officers Barracks and Mess building, designed by Eddie Belchambers, won an enduring architecture award. Photo / Paul L Marcroft
