Awards stack up for city libraries

Two Christchurch City Council-owned libraries have won top honours at the New Zealand Institute of Architects Local Awards.

Redcliffs Public Library has won the Small Project Architecture Award while the unique style of Matuku Takotako: Sumner Centre has been acknowledged with the Planning and Urban Design Award.

Both coastal libraries have won praise for their community engagement.

The award-winning Matuku Takotako: Sumner Centre.

“The awards highlight the Council’s commitment to social innovation, recreating our libraries as community hubs,” Council Capital Delivery Community Manager Darren Moses says.

“By taking a broader perspective, these two buildings have delivered stunning spaces for local communities that blend style with practicality.

“Creativity in a community context certainly opens the door to high-level design that captures the light and varied shade of the local area.”

Designed by Christchurch architect Greg Young, the “simple gable form” of Redcliffs Public Library features translucent panels that glow at night.

“The library is an excellent example of how a new building, even when modest in size, can enhance and celebrate the local environment at both a social and physical level,” the judges say.

The design allows natural light into the interior from both gable ends, while the solid side walls are lined with books.

The large glazed doors open to a terraced deck, “promoting community engagement”.

The Sumner Centre has been described as “precedent-setting for Christchurch, breaking down the traditional threshold to include adjacent public spaces, while inviting the community to their new living room”.

“Issues of scale have been addressed via form and materiality, with rust oxide-coloured concrete responding to the volcanic cliff backdrop and larch battens reflecting the weathered coastal environment,” the judges say.

Designed by Athfield Architects, the building has respected community memories of the earthquake-shattered old library with the “adaptive reuse of salvaged elements, including a war memorial roll”.