May 2025
Nau mai
We were excited to witness our wonderful friends Adriaan and Meg's remarkable Raglan property be recognised in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region’s Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects’ Awards 2025, held at Sky City Hamilton.
Te Wharewakaroa has the same owners as the sublime Whare Tatū we featured in an earlier article - have a look here.
2025 Waikato & Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards
Twelve ‘stunning’ residential projects were recognised, along with another 14 that spanned commercial, public, educational, urban design and interior architecture.
“It feels to me like there’s been a ‘coming of age’ for architects in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions, with local practices now making their mark to a greater degree than in previous years,” says jury convenor and architect Pat de Pont from SGA (Strachan Group Architects).
de Pont was joined on the jury by Mary Campbell (Bellbird Architect), Jenny Duck (Jenny Duck Architect), Steven Hughes (Build Good Architecture) and lay juror Alan Deare.
Mauri Ora
Housing category winner Te Wharewakaroa was designed by Adam Mercer of Auckland's Mercer and Mercer Architects.
The project in Raglan is described as “an understated synthesis of Pākehā modernism and te ao Māori”.
“An ātea (space) formed at the approach of this long house allows for mihi whakatau, and on being greeted and welcomed the whare is approached through the opua (verandah) space into the heart of the home.”
“Large sliding doors accentuate the whare’s connection to whenua with native planting crowding the building’s edges.”
NZIA awards page is here.
Judges citation
"An understated synthesis of pākehā modernism and Te Ao Māori. An ātea formed at the approach of this long house allows for mihi whakatau, and on being greeted and welcomed the whare is approached through the opua (verandah) space into the heart of the home.
The form of the building is an extruded lean-to, one room deep with sitting, eating and cooking spaces defined by the post-and-beam rhythm of the structure.
The form extends to sleeping spaces, connected through an open breezeway.
Large sliding doors accentuate the whare’s connection to whenua with native planting crowding the building’s edges.
Modern and timeless, this is a whare imbued with ‘wairoa’ that makes being home a spiritual experience."
Wairua
It goes without saying we are very proud of our friends and their beautiful Raglan whare. For me, visiting is genuinely a spiritual experience.
It's wonderful to see Adriaan's vision and Adam's work recognised in this way.
Meg's interior design flair and styling ability is evident throughout.
See some of Meg's gorgeous bespoke pottery work here: Ahi_Raglan.
I note Te Wharewakaroa was the headline image on the Waikato Times news article.
Images ©️Grant Davis 2025. Used by permission of the owners.
