Central Hawke s Bay mansion labour of love wins architecture award
7 May, 2021 07:31 AM
3 minutes to read
Mt Vernon Station Homestead in all its glory. Photo / Kevin Bills Photography
Hawkes Bay Today
Mt Vernon Station Homestead, a 139-year-old Waipukurau mansion, has been declared the winner in the heritage category of the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Gisborne and Hawke s Bay Awards.
Built in 1882, the house at Mt Vernon is a category 1 historic place. The homestead was painstakingly restored to its former glory, winning Napier architect Ann Galloway a prize in the process.
The restoration of the heritage-listed Mount Vernon Station house was one of seven projects honoured at the awards in Napier on Friday night.
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Housing winners include a Hamilton family home by Mercer and Mercer Architects, described as having “a bit of attitude”. The judges citation said: “A refined palette of materials balances industrial finishes with rhythmic timber, and showcases not only a material sophistication but a deft understanding of light and acoustics; it’s a sensory masterclass.”
Simon Wilson
Simon Wilson
Waipapa, Whangapoua by Strachan Group Architects But not every winner is about sophistication. Waipapa, a farm shed-inspired home by Strachan Group Architects, on a riverbank at Whangapoua beach on the Coromandel Peninsula “responds sympathetically to the landscape beyond”. “Everything is considered, from exceptional detailing to spaces that are both functional and inviting; from multi-use bedrooms to an open-plan entertaining area. Outdoor rooms with screen actuators mimic the ritualistic aspects of camping while retaining access to the comforts of modern living.”
Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, is changing rapidly. In what was once a Soviet city known for its quiet tree-lined avenues, new highrise towers and grand administrative buildings are emerging. It is an extraordinary transformation taking place as Tajikistan reimagines what it means to be an independent Central Asian republic with its own national identity. But some residents are questioning the price at which it comes: the demolition of the city’s Soviet architecture and with it, the loss of childhood homes and memories to large-scale construction.
It is a topic debated on the pages of local newspapers, on social media and in local teahouses – pitting a shrinking but vocal class of Russian-speaking, middle-class natives of Soviet Dushanbe who oppose these changes as a targeted erasure of its history against the city’s Tajik-speaking majority, many of whom moved here from the countryside and view the changes in the capital as a sign of a nation coming into its own.