Meeting and working together was a twist of fate and like a lot of partnerships it could have gone terribly wrong. Both are music lovers – Ewan has a significant and enviable classic vinyl collection – but, on paper, it may have looked like they played from a different song book. However, instead of dissonance there was a subtle resonance – a chord was struck.

Ewan hails from a mainly commercial ‘big-stuff’ background in architecture. His dad Brownie was a builder and all the unpaid building work has clearly paid off in Ewan’s career. Hugh’s early experience was on the tools ‘making stuff’. He had generally designed smaller scale, highly crafted residential buildings and spiritual retreats that reveal an underlying sensitivity in the use of materials and creation of spaces.

Put those two together, combine them with their past and present teams, and their impressive portfolio with its multitude of project types, and it shows how far they’ve come. Their projects are exemplars of Tennent Brown’s central philosophy to create buildings for and with people, be they for spiritual, educational, sports, cultural, commercial, wellness or residential purposes.

Tennent Brown’s commitment to the challenge of learning te reo Māori is admirable. Hīkoia te kōrero – they walk the talk. In built form, they deliver the results of successful engagement with many iwi groups and their people, not limited to their wonderful work at Te Wānanga o Raukawa.

From lectures and critiquing to writing and judging, Hugh and Ewan have generously given their time in numerous support roles for Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects. Ewan also provided support for his wife Judi Keith-Brown during her very successful tenure as president of the Institute. Tennent Brown’s projects have been judged by their peers and recognised with more than 75 Local and National awards from the Institute. Accolades have also come from other parts of the industry, including the Best Awards and Commercial Projects Awards.

The two self-effacing Te Whanganui-a-Tara architects who we know and love are the least likely of characters to talk themselves up, but in 2002 Hugh became a Fellow of the Institute. In 2021, Ewan was made a Fellow and in 2024 he received a President’s award for dedicated service to our industry. ‘In association with Hugh Tennent, Ewan’s collaborative efforts push boundaries and reshape industry standards, guiding projects to support community wellbeing, environmental harmony and carbon neutrality,’ reads the citation.

Hugh’s long-term engagement with the teachings of Buddhism no doubt underly his approach and response to landscape and the desire that buildings have a positive effect on people. In 2023, Hugh’s Bodhinyanarama Monastery [1992] received an enduring architecture award from the Institute. ‘A generosity of spirit – architect as designer and builder, with a dedicated team lending skill, love and an old-school No 8-wire attitude – created this building,’ noted the judges.

A few of us call Ewan ‘Mr Carbon’, not in jest, but as a mark of respect for having immersed Hugh and their team in the world of the Living Building Challenge. That world is not about precise science, as there are so many variables that come into play. Between the spreadsheets, the material data sheets, avoiding red-list materials and numerous conflicting factors, how do you keep blue-sky architectural thinking alive without being submerged in statistics and data overload? Sifting through this minefield to ensure our buildings perform better than they’ve ever done is not easy. On top of that, Ewan and Hugh have worked through the rigorous process of scrutinising their social and environmental impact to become B-Corp certified. In 2023, Tennent Brown became the first architecture practice in Aotearoa to join the global movement for an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy.

Above: Ewan, Judi Keith-Brown, Colleen and Dave Strachan at the Hill House by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Helensburgh, Scotland.

Hugh is proud of his Scottish heritage, so perhaps it’s okay to name check the ideals of Tennent’s Brewery that somewhat align. The Glasgow brewery is committed to using renewable energy, solar-assisted delivery vans, reducing plastic use, sourcing local materials, the critical importance of water and the overall reduction of carbon. Ewan, too, is proud of his Scottish connections and we both share a fondness for a dram. We had a long talked-up idea of travelling to Islay to sample their finest, and we finally made it there last August, with Judi and my wife Col. I can tell you from personal experience that, despite being under the influence of that wonderful peaty Islay whisky – Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Port Ellen, Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte – in that wild elemental environment off the west coast of Scotland, there is no way anyone could talk Ewan off course in his endeavour to make low-carbon buildings that benefit all people who come into contact with them. Ewan needs to do this work so he can look his kids in the eye and say, ‘I did my best’.

Since 2003, Ewan and Hugh have forged a powerful partnership with their extended team – an exemplar of what many practices could aspire to. There’s no academic waffle or green posturing, but real tangible, measurable outcomes for the benefit of all. So let’s raise a glass of cold Tennent’s lager, followed by an Ardbeg chaser. What a combo! Go well Ewan and Hugh, this award is so richly deserved.

Dave Strachan, FNZIA, founded SGA–Strachan Group Architects in 1998 and was awarded the Gold Medal by this Institute in 2020.