Highlights from The New Zealand Festival of Architecture

Last month, architectural designers in Auckland and from all around New Zealand got together to celebrate the annual Festival of Architecture. As members of the architecture community, it’s important to spread knowledge and ideas through events such as this. The festival showcased some of the best and most innovative ideas that the industry is developing. The festival also hosted a few fun events to get involved in. We recap some highlights from the festival.

World PARK(ing) Day

On the third Friday in September every year is what’s known as world Park(ing) day. This year, Architects across Auckland decided to participate as part of the Festival of Architecture. This day is all about spreading awareness of the great qualities of public spaces, and switching the narrative towards designing for people, rather than vehicles.

Across Auckland, single public parking spaces were reimagined into interactive and engaging public spaces. Pedestrians across Britomart, Devonport, Henderson,

Panmure, and Takapuna had the opportunity to participate in community events from yoga, to knitting, to skating on reimagined halfpipes. They were able to witness sculpture art that opens up the discussion around public spaces, and experience ‘play’ in a space where there would otherwise simply be function.

Designer/Maker

In any design form, it is often the output that is celebrated, yet the process and context of the project is just as important. In an age where designers are becoming more fluid towards the sphere of makers and creators, the messy parts in the process need to be showcased and valued for their worth. This exhibition and series of talks encouraged designers to challenge the stigma of the messy process.

Designers from a range of different disciplines at varying stages of their career each shared a capsule of their process. They showcased the sometimes-personal aspects of the design process—those which people often feel vulnerable sharing. The talks were each truly insightful and showed that there is real value in a process, maybe even more than that in a final outcome.

Model Citizens

The inaugural Model Citizens competition went off with a blast. At the event—organised in conjunction with ArchitectureNow—teams of three to five people got together to create an architectural model out of everyone’s favourite childhood toy; Lego! The surprise brief was to design a cultural museum to stand at

Auckland’s Wynyard point, and the entries were really quite spectacular.

Athfield Architects picked up first place, but the event was more about bringing creatives together for a good cause. The proceeds from the event went towards buying lego sets for schools in need, which is a great way to inspire the next generation of architects.

Open Studios

For anyone who wants to be able to better understand the daily life of an architect, open studios were held over the weekend of the Festival of Architecture.

Many of the countries’ biggest architecture firms opened their doors to show the general public, students and budding architects the practise of an architecture studio.

In Auckland, the tour of open studios scaled the whole city. Many made the pilgrimage to as many studios and firms as they could in the allotted time slots. Each studio had a collection of work on display, showcasing the practises, processes and unique aspects of each individual firm.

Why We Cycle

Why we cycle is a documentary made by the NZIA in collaboration with the Dutch Embassy. It talks with cyclists to uncover some excellent conversations about what drives them to ride. Cycling is a huge part of urban development in New Zealand, so it’s important we have these conversations with people who are actually getting out there and doing it.

The screening of the documentary took place at the City Gallery in Wellington, and was accompanied by a panel discussion around urban development and cycling in the city. How will New Zealand develop a cycling culture that makes people want to ride, and why is this the best path for us to be on when it comes tourban development?

Keep Up to Date with The World of Architecture

At Gubb Design, we care about what’s going on in the world around us. The architecture industry is constantly changing and we want to be one step ahead of the curve, whether it’s with house architecture or urban development. Attending events like this is a great way to ensure we’re expanding our horizons and being an

active part in the community of architecture here in New Zealand. For more information about architecture news and events, keep an eye on our blog.