2023 Canterbury Architecture Awards Winner
Biv Punakaiki
A small built-to-rent hut on a remote piece of land becomes an architectural adventure. Working against the elements, the headwinds of geography and difficulties of remote collaboration, the architects have built something quite unique. Difficulties seem to have resolved into intensity. The object is striking and resonant, speaking to the miner’s hut, but the interiority is something else. The line between inside and outside is well defined, but unclear. Biv is positioned on the edge, in the great West Coast bush. Hinting at predecessors, this building becomes a machine for experiencing the bushland. Cleverly placed apertures, such as the dizzying funnelled skylight, serve to intensify engagement. Being inside and experiencing the outside is magical.
