Two NZIA Practices, Monk MacKenzie and Isthmus Group, have found success at one of the world’s most prestigious architecture events.
The two firms won significant awards at the World Architecture Festival, held in Berlin from 16-18 November.
In the Transport category, Monk Mackenzie came out on top for its work on Auckland’s LightPath / Te Ara I Whiti – a neon-pink transformation of a redundant piece of motorway into a highly valued pedestrian and cycle path.
In Berlin, Monk MacKenzie presented the project with the project’s co-author, Auckland-based landscape architecture practice LandLAB.
At the recent New Zealand Architecture Awards, Lightpath, entered in tandem with the Canada Street Bridge, a new structure that provides a sinuous access way to the LightPath, won New Zealand’s highest public architecture award, the John Scott Award for Public Architecture.
The second NZIA Pratice to win an award at WAF was Isthmus Group, a multi-disciplinary firm comprised of architects, landscape architects and urban designers. Isthmus's Kopupaka Reserve, in west Auckland, was announced World Landscape of the Year.
The park’s design is based around a number of ‘basket’ forms constructed from a modified crib wall product. The baskets filter stormwater from a nearby suburban development, but also provide spaces for sports and recreation.
"Inspired by woven baskets for catching eel, Isthmus has developed an innovative river-wall system of interlocking timbers," said the awards jury.
"Simple yet sophisticated engienering allows the baskets to retain silt and create habitats which will shift and change over time."