NZ - National Institute of Architects awards: North Piha surf lifeguard tower a winner
It is robust, concrete, utilitarian and looks like it came out of a sci-fi film, yet already this tower has won a number of awards, shortlisted for a global prize in Portugal.
Today, Crosson Architects won a Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects national award for North Piha’s surf lifeguard tower, which it designed.
The architects were praised for their use of black oxide precast circular concrete pipe sections, which were stacked on top of each other to brace against the wind and make a strong visual statement at the black sand beach.
The fit-for-purpose tower was a critical piece of infrastructure in the area, where other towers had succumbed to the extremely harsh conditions, the judges said, giving it one of two small project awards.
“A very functional and safe spiral staircase leads to the cantilevered watch house, its operable ribbon windows like a pair of wrap-around westie sunglasses providing views up and down North Piha’s rugged surf coast,” said the jurors, headed by Dave Strachan.
The tower was a finalist in last year’s World Architecture Festival in Lisbon, a finalist in this year’s Concrete NZ Nauhria Awards, a winner in the Architectural Concrete Award, and won a local award from the institute for the Auckland area this year.
“The brief was for a robust, low-maintenance building that would withstand the severe North Piha coastal environment. It needed to provide accommodation for four lifeguards with excellent visibility along the beach - a building that was functional and responded to its context,” Crossons said.
Another winner of the small project architecture category was a Nelson studio house designed by William Samuels Architects.
