NZIA Talks: Building community through architecture

In collaboration with Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Auckland Branch, this talk explores how architecture can shape and support community.

Inspired by our current exhibition, PUPURITIA: Storytelling and Contemporary Textiles – which highlights the relationship between textile practice and community – we’ve invited leading architects to share reflections on projects that meaningfully connect people and place.

In this session, Dave Strachan and Pat de Pont of Strachan Group Architects Ltd will present on Studio 19 Community Housing, Laingholm Baptist Church, Studio 19 oneCOMMUNITY SHED, and Motu Kaikōura.

Graeme Burgess and Wade Southgate of Burgess Treep & Knight Architects Ltd will discuss Te Pou Theatre and Whare Koa – Māngere Community House.

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As design director of SGA, Dave Strachan has over 40 years’ experience in the fields of building, interiors, teaching and architecture. Dave has a Master of Architecture Degree in Sustainable Design and is a 2002 graduate of the Newcastle University Glenn Murcutt Master class. He has also been an Adjunct Professor at Unitec School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Dave is particularly passionate about pre-fabricating sustainable buildings for challenging sites and has extensive experience in this area. In the pursuit of finely crafted buildings, Dave also retains his Category 2 Licensed Building Practitioner License. SGA, the practice he founded in 1980, has received more than 35 awards from the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA), including New Zealand Architecture Awards for a variety of bespoke homes, prefabricated houses, community facilities and commercial buildings. In 2020 Dave received the NZIA Gold Medal, the highest architectural award in NZ which reflects the passion and the quality of his design and contribution to architecture in NZ.

Pat de Pont joined SGA Ltd in 1992 (formerly “The Architecture Shop Ltd) with experience in design, documentation and administration of residential, retail, commercial and education projects. In addition to design work, Pat's role within the practice as Practice Director, include project resourcing, the management and development of office and BIM/CAD systems, staff training, in-house document production and quality assurance.

Graeme believes that the built environment should be a place that nurtures and supports society at all levels, as well as being an intertwined cultural space filled with stories.
He feels those are the qualities that make architecture important and that keep him engaged in thinking about how architecture works in our world.

Wade Southgate resides in Puketāpapa Mt Roskill, and has worked with Burgess Treep & Knight since 2012 on a wide variety of projects. Having grown up a short distance from Corban Estate Arts Centre, working on Te Pou was an incredible opportunity to see the transformation of adaptive re-use up close and personal. It was a joy to work with Te Pou and contribute to such an uplifting project.

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This event is presented in partnership between Objectspace and Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Auckland Branch. NZIA are committed to promoting and celebrating outstanding architecture that enhances our cities, towns and natural environments.