Homeworld ’81: 40 years on
I’ve had a great trip down memory lane recently thinking about Homeworld ‘81 A few weeks ago I was contacted by a British film maker who was making a film to mark the 40th anniversary of this innovatove housing exhibition. I jumped at the chance – mostly because Homeworld ’81 was somehting I had been discussing with architectural colleagues in relation to the current affordable housing crisis in New Zealand. Watching ‘Homeworld ’81: The... Read More
Whakatāne Airport Recognised
Just over 12 years ago, I met my then new girlfriend’s father for the first time at a restaurant in Wellington. “Where did you fly from,” I asked. “Whakatāne,” he replied. “Oh, I designed Whakatāne Airport.” There was a pause (a nervous pause on my side). “I like Whakatāne Airport,” he said. And we’ve been good mates ever since. And it is fair to say that not everybody loves it – it has its share of friends and foes. But last... Read More
The Pertinence of Park Mews
I was sitting in my office one day minding my own business when the phone rang. The caller introduced himself as comedian Billy Connolly’s New Zealand agent. “Billy wants to meet you,” he said. Apparently on the way in from the airport, he’d passed Park Mews in Hataitai and stated: “The architect clearly possesses a sense of humour.” Read More Read More
An Architect on the Road
On November 11 2016 I was awarded the NZIA Gold Medal. I believe this is what you get for working 45 years of 60 hour weeks. I felt honoured. One of the things that come with this award ,as well as a very heavy round medal, is a book, and an enjoyable obligation to undertake a roadie trip around the country delivering a one hour illustrated talk at each of the eight NZIA branches, as an entree to the main course which is the annual ceremony of the... Read More
Welcome to the past
I took part in a number of events last week for Architecture Week including this story which appeared in a number of newspapers at the beginning of the week. They were well organised, informative, and well attended events and which it was both a privilege and a pleasure to be part of the week. A big shout out to all those who helped organise it. But my personal highlight would have gone unnoticed by most. I delivered a lecture at my alma mater Auckland... Read More
Enduring Again
In addition to the Flint House, Roger Walker’s 1969 Stroud House also won an Enduring Architecture Award recently, this time in the NZIA Wellington Region Local Architecture Awards. Judges commented; “This house has worn extremely well. It remains a wonderful insight into a more gentle and optimistic time. The tiny but nurturing scale is extraordinary and the ordinary materials are reassuring. The complex spaces and labyrinthine... Read More
Enduring Award
Roger Walker’s 1969 Flint House recently won an Enduring Architecture Award in the NZIA Auckland Region Local Architecture Awards. Judges commented, “This perfectly maintained example of a house from a classic period of New Zealand architecture is a reminder of how fresh, playful and essentially novel Roger Walker’s work was — and still is. In a series of individually-articulated volumes set in a grove of kauri trees,... Read More
Walker in the News
Roger Walker’s Avalon Townhouses recently featured in the Hutt News as an exemplar of urban intensification. Read More
Enduring Architecture Award
On Friday 25 October, we received an Enduring Architecture Award from the Waikato / Bay of Plenty Branch of the NZIA. The house was designed for Christine and Norman Harris in Lake Crescent in 1980. They moved to Katikati a few years later. Fortunately an enduring architecture award does not require the owners to endure, but their house did also receive an NZIA Branch award in 1981,under their watch. Sally Wise, the new owner, repaired the cedar weatherboard... Read More
Plan to keep breathing
The team from Walker Architecture and Design was in Christchurch last night to hear the Minister of Building and Housing announce the winning project for the Breathe Urban Village. By now you may well know through media coverage that ours was not the winning scheme (at least not in the eyes of those who made the decision!) The news was not new to us. After a period of intense meetings and negotiations with us and one other team, organisers... Read More
