Hutt City Council buildings win top architectural awards

Two of Hutt City Council’s newest building projects have won prestigious awards from the New Zealand Institute of Architects.
 
The $12 million Walter Nash Centre in Taita, is a winner of the NZIA Wellington Branch Award for Public Architecture, while the new ANZAC bus shelter outside the War Memorial Library is a winner in the Small Project Architecture category.
 
The regional wins means both will be shortlisted for the NZIA national awards in November.
 
Award judges said the Walter Nash Centre, which opened in October, was “infused with fresh thinking” for integrating a library, café and gym with extensive sports and community facilities under one roof, along with innovative use of new cladding materials.
 
They were also impressed by the Centre’s impact on Taita, attracting more than 300,000 visitors through the doors since opening.
 
The ANZAC shelter was described by judges as “a mini symphony in timber, glass and granite”.
 
Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace is rapt that the awards are for some of the Council’s newest projects.


Photo courtesy of Hutt City Council
 
“It’s a great acknowledgment for the Walter Nash Centre after all the hard work to make it a reality. Taita and the wider community has embraced the Centre since it opened six months ago and it has given so many residents, especially young people, opportunities they have never had before,” he says.
 
“The Centre has also benefited from the dedication of Council staff. They have championed its facilities and made the community feel welcome.”
 
The Centre is a joint project by Hutt City Council-controlled organisation the Community Facilities Trust and Council.
 
Community Facilities Trust board chairperson Alister Skene says, “The award is recognition of a lot of hard work by the design and construction teams, the Trust and Council staff. As a Trust we are delighted by the way the building has been embraced by the community. We love it and I'm glad they love it too - the visitation numbers have been way beyond what we imagined.”
 
Mr Skene says the award was also vindication that the Trust was on the right track, working with Council on other projects, including development of Fraser Park and Walter Mildenhall Park.


Photo courtesy of Hutt City Council

“We want to create similar magic with our next projects. As a city we have much to look forward to.”
 
The Centre was designed by Ralph Roberts of architects Warren and Mahoney. Roberts says he and his team were thrilled with the win. The design was ground-breaking, including having a library alongside sports facilities, which was “untested elsewhere in New Zealand”, he says.
 
“It’s really for the community and surpassed the architecture in my view. It’s colourful and it’s meant to represent all cultures. It’s a strong, simple, robust building.”
 
ANZAC shelter architect John Melhuish, of HMA Wellington, says he felt privileged to be part of the project. 
 
“Designing a bus shelter was a first for HMA and provided an opportunity to turn what is often a utilitarian and generic form into an architectural design feature in its own right.”