The 2022 Warren Trust Writing Awards received a high-quality collection of entries from all our writers. Using the theme “What does architecture mean to you?” we were impressed by the ranges of subject matter and writing styles the writers chose, from moving pieces in te reo Māori and English to poems and graphic novels.
So it is a pleasure to welcome the return of our book of winning and highly commended entries as a record of the quality of the writing and to inspire others to enter the awards.
The Warren Trust Awards for Architectural Writing were established in 2015 by Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects with the support of The Warren Trust. The entries were judged by Pacific scholar Dr Karamia Müller, journalist Alex Casey and independent writer, curator and educator Cameron Ah Loo-Matamua.
The winning and highly commended entries were described by the judges in many terms, but the ones that stood out included extraordinary, startling and captivating.
The 2022 awards were even more poignant given the of passing Sir Miles Warren. Sir Miles’s career spanned decades and will leave a lasting impact on architecture in Aotearoa New Zealand for centuries to come. Sir Miles retired in 1995 but remained active as an advocate for architectural education and a patron of the arts. The Warren Trust was established in 2006 and over the last decade has given more than $1.4 million to promote architectural education to both the architectural profession and the wider public in New Zealand.
Thanks to all the writers who took the time to enter, and sincere thanks to The Warren Trust for their continued support of this popular and inspiring initiative.
The winners
Open Category
Winner:
Nga Wharerangi Turnbull – The Creation of Space
Highly Commended:
Celia Mahon-Heap – As Part of Myself
Abigail Temby Spence – Hoa Mahi: Speaking New Worlds into Being
Mikayla Exton – The House That Isn’t Ours
Rangatahi Category
Winner:
William Dickson – What Does Architecture Mean to Me?
Highly Commended:
Evana Chan – Scavenger Hunt
Elizabeth Kuschel-Young – It Becomes Us
Abbie Mackay – The Storybook
Tamariki Category
Winner:
Beau Te Orite Maiti – What Architecture Means to Me
Highly Commended:
Harry Inglis — Poem of Architecture
Matilda Grainger — The Christchurch Cathedral
Camila Puricelli Callau – A Warm Welcome
The judges
Dr Karamia Müller, architecture lecturer at the University of Auckland
Alex Casey, senior writer at The Spinoff
Cameron Ah Loo-Matamua, writer and curator