Restoration of historic art gallery epitomises excellence

MEDIA RELEASE
09.06.2012

Restoration of historic art gallery epitomises excellence

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki has cemented its place as the country’s top commercial property development for 2012, receiving highest honours at the annual Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards last night.

The Category One heritage building was judged against seven other finalists, classed as “the best of the best”, to take home the Rider Levett Bucknall Supreme Award in front of 980 guests at a black tie gala dinner at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland. The award was presented by Hon Steven Joyce. Deemed as a very worthy recipient by the judging panel, this property took out “Best in Category” in both the Coffey Projects Education and Arts Property Award and the Hawkins Construction Heritage and Adaptive Reuses Property Award.

The judges were impressed with “the total scope of the project, the attention to detail, the tireless commitment and cooperation of all stakeholders in the delivery of a unique project incorporating stunning architectural and engineering features and delivering a world class, future proofed facility that will provide tangible benefits to New Zealand for generations”.

Constructed by Hawkins Construction for Regional Facilities Auckland, the development includes the restoration of two heritage buildings, a new building extension that doubles the available exhibition and public areas, new basement storage and services areas, and a redesigned interface with Albert Park. In total, the project extends over 14,350m2.

This building was constructed from New Zealand kauri for the ceiling of the gallery, German Jura stone for the exterior, American white oak for the floor and specialised glass from Europe, America and Asia.

Its design was developed from a concept related as much to the organic natural forms of the park as the architectural order and character of the legacy buildings. In particular, the building features a series of fine ‘tree-like’ canopies that define and cover the entry forecourt and atrium areas. These light, profiled forms are inspired by the adjacent canopy of pohutukawa and ‘hover’ over the stone walls and terraces that reinterpret the site’s topography.

A record 82 properties were evaluated as finalists in this year’s awards - evidence of confidence returning to the industry in the opinion of Property Council’s chief executive Connal Townsend. However, less than half of the finalists managed to secure an award –16 Excellence and 21 Merit awards were presented to developments across the country. This included awards given to developments in Auckland (21), Wellington (5), Christchurch (5), Hamilton (2), Tauranga (1), Mt Maunganui (1), Whakapapa (1), Rotorua (1) and Dunedin (1).

Only properties selected as the best of the Excellence winners in each category were eligible to be considered for the Supreme Award – a change in process to provide better acknowledgement for the most outstanding property among those awarded excellence in each category, said Mr Townsend. “With a record number of properties to evaluate over the last few years, we decided to add a new bar of recognition to help streamline the administration of the competition”, he said. “This helped by providing a more succinct finalist list for the pre-eminent supreme award, and more importantly, it has allowed the winners to receive the recognition they deserve”.

In determining the winning properties, the judges considered the economic viability of the property, design and construction, efficiency of operation, owner and user satisfaction, contribution to the community, potential cultural and social benefits, degree of difficulty associated with the development and environmentally sustainable features incorporated into the project.

New Zealand’s most prestigious property industry awards have been running for more than 15 years, and celebrate excellence in commercial property development. The awards attract submissions from the country’s top commercial property developments.

Submissions for the awards are open to both members and non-members of Property Council New Zealand, and entries go through a rigorous 3-month judging process, which include detailed review of the developments and site visits by the judging panel.

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