Auckland’s LightPath and Te Pātaka Kōrero o Te Hau Kapua–Devonport Library have been recognised at The 2016 New Zealand Architecture Awards.
The awards were announced at an event in Wellington on 11 November. The jury, which included Auckland architects Megan Edwards and Michael O’Sullivan, visited 50 shortlisted buildings from the Bay of Islands to Central Otago.
LightPath / Canada Street Bridge
The John Scott Award for Public Architecture went to Auckland’s neon-pink LightPath, designed by Monk MacKenzie with GHD, Landlab and Novare Design. It also won in the Planning and Urban Design category.
“The LightPath and Canada Street Bridge are fun as well as functional,” the jury said. “It’s a surprising and uplifting project that sends a message that Auckland is becoming a people-centred city.”
In this project, the jury said, “a redundant section of motorway has been artfully combined with an elegant new bridge to produce an inspiring piece of urban design with enormous public appeal.”
A month ago, the LightPath was named among the supreme winners of the annual Best New Zealand Design Awards.
Te Pātaka Kōrero o Te Hau Kapua–Devonport Library
Te Pātaka Kōrero o Te Hau Kapua was one of two projects recognised in the public architecture category. The library, designed by Athfield Architects, has quickly become a valued community asset.
The jury said the library’s “generous and engaging spaces, and its combination of relaxed ambience and busy occupation, lend it an admirable vitality.”
The 950m2 building breaks new ground in library design with specially designed spaces that respond to changes in customer expectations of self service, digital and e-book delivery.
Mirla Edmundson, General Manager Libraries and Information said she’s “delighted with the new library, which has been embraced so lovingly by the Devonport community, is getting national recognition.
“The building shows how the contemporary public library continues to evolve, adapting to the uptake of digital and online services, while maintaining the critical role of civic community hub.”
Since opening in January 2015, library visits have increased 68 per cent, book issues 12 per cent and internet sessions at the library by a whopping 482 per cent.
