STRICTLY EMBARGOED: UNTIL 10:00PM, FRIDAY 12 AUGUST 2022
HomeGround, the complex designed to give homeless people a hand up, won hands down at this year’s Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards – in an event that saw Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland properties dominate.
The city took out not only the Supreme Award but also four Best in Category accolades, 12 Excellence Awards and 13 Merits, featuring in all but one of the 11 categories.
These awards have a broad and robust judging criteria that make them truly unique, with nominees assessed for how the development tracked against financial estimates, owner and user satisfaction, as well as its design, construction and sustainability.
There were 83 entries for 69 developments vying for the top accolade, culminating in New Zealand’s largest gala dinner with more than 1,500 guests hosted at Auckland’s Spark Arena this evening.
HomeGround, owned and developed by Auckland City Mission, is a 12,000sqm, 11-storey multi-purpose development that was also named the Best in Category and awarded Excellence in the Kāinga Ora Community and Affordable Housing category, and Excellence in the Resene Green Building Property category.
The judges applauded how HomeGround delivered on the needs of multi-purpose users, and they said that while it was hard to integrate mixed-use, the result was exceptional.
It is New Zealand’s first model of single-site supportive housing for people needing housing, food and low-cost medical services. Stevens Lawson Architects was commissioned to design a building that treats users with respect and dignity and welcomes all Aucklanders.
Constructed by Built Environs, the property includes 80 permanent apartments with wraparound services and facilities including a medical centre, withdrawal facilities, educational and training facilities, meal provision and community spaces for the public.
Property Council chief executive Leonie Freeman described it as “a genuine example of how a building can be not only a roof over our head, but a safe haven for those in need”.
Redeveloping a single dwelling property into a five-storey building with 32 apartments culminated in Modal in Mt Albert, Auckland, winning Excellence and Best in Category in the Templeton Multi Unit Residential Property Award category. Modal is contained on a 719sqm site with nine 2-bedroom apartments and 23 one-bedroom apartments.
The Rise, a 1,200 sqm mixed-use commercial building in Titirangi Village, Auckland that features commercial spaces suited to artisans, wellness providers and small businesses, was named Best in Category and Excellence in the Yardi Retail Property Award category.
The Holmes Tourism and Leisure Property Award went to the Cordis Hotel’s new 17-storey landmark Pinnacle Tower giving the Auckland property an additional 244 guest rooms.
Also winning two Excellence and Best in Category Awards was Profile Group’s Hautapu HQ in Cambridge, winning both the Resene Green Building Award and CBRE Industrial Property Award. The project also received a Merit in the RCP Commercial Office Property Award category.
Christchurch’s new Convention Centre, Te Pae – boasting 28,000sqm of floor area, a 1,400-seat tiered auditorium, a 2,800sqm exhibition space, a 1,800-seat banquet space as well as state-of-the-art audio visual, ICT, and rigging provisions – was the Warren and Mahoney Civic, Health & Arts Property Award winner.
Other winning projects included Christchurch’s Te Aratai College (formerly known as Linwood College), that won the Greenstone Group Education Property Award. The high school campus features an impressive Creativity and Innovation Block to house a wide variety of science, technology and arts-focused teaching spaces.
Freeman acknowledged all the nominees’ tenacity, with many of the projects being delivered throughout a period of lockdowns and economic uncertainty.
“These awards showcase what can happen when you marry courageous vision with the can-do attitude of passionate people. The result is not only remarkable buildings but properties, precincts and cities that have a positive impact on our communities.”
ENDS.
For more information and winner’s contact details please contact:
Hayley McLarin | Compelling PR | 027 559 1172 | hayley@compellingpr.co.nz
For submission images, click here