2015 Canterbury Architecture Awards Winner
Matariki (Registry building, Ilam Campus – University of Canterbury)
Designed in 1974 by Hall and McKenzie, Matariki is one of the most striking and recognizable buildings on the University of Canterbury Campus. At the time the building was intended as a bastion, a defense against student protest. Today, the entries have been opened up to welcome students instead of keeping them at bay. Warren and Mahoney’s repairs and alterations successfully transform the ground floor entry levels without compromising the brutalist aesthetic of the original building. New canopies have been added, an exhibition area opened up, yet the weighty mass of the building has been maintained. Windows, services, and interior finishes have been upgraded or replaced. Impressively, within the Council Chamber on the top floor, the original timber ceiling has been removed, restored, and replaced using a slightly modified pattern with a more pronounced texture that seems entirely appropriate to the character of the building.
- Practice
- Warren and Mahoney Architects New Zealand Ltd
- Category
- Heritage
- Location
- Canterbury
