Style: July 06, 2018

STYLE | architecture 41
Located at Villa Maria College is
Public award winner Te Manawa
Atawhai Catherine McAuley Centre by
Hamish Shaw Architects. The design
of this meditative space was inspired
by the memory of landscapes and
references to the journey from Ireland
to the West Coast of New Zealand
undertaken by
the Sisters of Mercy. The awards jury
says, “The building’s pleated corten
cladding references the memory of
Catherine McAuley and her protective
shawl and provides an exterior that
changes in colour and depth, giving
a strong sculptural presence to the
building.”
A sanctuary garden at the centre of
the building creates an outdoor space
within the interior that is the focus of a
new kind of contemplation and prayer,
rich in symbolism and informed by the
bicultural teaching history of the Sisters.
On your way out to Sumner, you
will discover Small Project Architecture
award winner the Redcliffs Village
Library on Main Road. Designed by
Young Architects, the simple gable
form of this library and translucent
panels that glow at night create a street
frontage that is friendly in scale and
welcoming. The design allows natural
light into the interior of the library from
both gable ends, while the solid side
walls are lined with books. This design
gesture makes sense of the library
requirements and creates interesting
light qualities in the interior. Facing
the street are large glazed doors that
can be opened to a terraced deck
promoting community engagement.
The jury described it “as an excellent
example of how a new building, even
when modest in size, can enhance and
celebrate the local environment at both
a social and physical level”.
If you are driving south, cruise by the
“beautifully crafted and elegant” Carters
Estate Tennis Pavilion in Ashburton by
PRau, which also won a Small Project
Architecture Award. The building
acknowledges the terrestrial narrative
of the post-war concrete modernist
buildings of Canterbury. The external
form-making is sculptural, providing
an anchor to the community leisure
activities of the subdivision, and acting
as a sentinel to the boardwalk and
pond it overlooks.
A tapered viewing window belies the
heavy parentage of the structure and
is seductive in promoting engagement
with the pond from the interior. The
inverted detailing of the concreteshuttered
walls with cedar shutters
intact provides a tactility and warmth
that contrasts with the strength of the
concrete perimeter beams hovering
above.
While you may not be able to book
Cymon Allfrey Architects’ own family
bach for the weekend, the design
provides a modern-day interpretation
of a typical A-frame timber Hanmer
Springs Village holiday home. According
to the awards jury, the Housing award
winner is a “refreshing and honest
little getaway doesn’t take itself too
seriously”. An array of vernacular forms
cleverly frames outdoor space, while
offering privacy from the subdivision
www.christchurch.build7.co.nz