Jury citation
Ath was a thinker, maker, agitator and larger-than-life figure whose legacy remains not just in his eponymous practice but throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, the Pacific, Australia and beyond. Hills Residences is an example of pushing boundaries here and beyond our borders, a famously Athfieldian quality. This project demonstrates how buildings otherwise slated for demolition can be successfully re-used. It shows that multi-residential projects can cater for diverse users and tastes and succeed as a piece of city-making through densification, connecting, stitching and imagining beyond the site. Perhaps most importantly, it's part of a wider project by the architects to energise Kirikiriroa Hamilton through connection to its river.
