Andrew is a long loved member of PGA. Hailing from Hawkes Bay in New Zealand, he graduated from Architecture at Victoria University, Wellington in 2007.
After graduating, Andrew jumped straight into designing a new home for his Aunty and Uncle in Martinborough, NZ.
Andrew wrote a few words about the project:
Martinborough is a bit of an odd place. It floods fairly easily and the ground is an old river bed, hence the fertile grape growing soil and presence of many vineyards. This is the predominant reason behind the elevation of the house. Although, it is also proposed that vines be planted around the house with vistas along similar axes. Once this landscaping grows up around the house it should sit more comfortably in the beautiful valley that it inhabits.
Martinborough House was built on a very tight budget, around $1800 per square metre, by a Speculative housing company called A1 homes. A1 are generally known for their shed houses with butterfly roofs, probably of a similar budget to this property. The project was finished in May 2009 and I was not involved in the building process apart from answering some small detail queries. The builder apparently loved the home once it was finished and wanted to add it to their catalogue, not sure what I think about this idea.
It was an interesting process, but surprisingly, the general idea has been attempted to be kept. The placement of services, like gas etc. has been almost integrated in the design. Coming straight out from university, this is a folly of inexperience. I did not design around the placement of these services so the builder did his best.
The internal spaces were finalised by my Uncle and Auntie, and apart from some crazily vibrant colours that only a child could love to two of the bedrooms, the internal colours were kept very clean and simple. The overall effect is very well done.
The point here is, once you ‘let go’ of a project it is very interesting to see where it goes. Generally, this job was completed well. But I must say that with a few finishing touches this project could have been much more pleasing architecturally.
Posted in Uncategorized.
I came across this great train line redevelopment a few years ago while studying. Now, I’m revisiting anything to do with architecture and design in New York, in preparation of a holiday next year.
The High Line is an old raised train line in Manhattan. It was saved from demolition in 1999 and after much community involvement, is now an elevated public park.
We’re currently working on green roofs and green walls in the office – perhaps we could learn something from The High Line.
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with architecture, construction, green roof, inner city green space, innovation, landscape, landscape design, new york, SUSTAINABILITY, the high line, train track conversion, USA.
This is an ESD house we’re doing at the moment in Northcote. It is based on two garden pavilions – a day and night pavilion – linked with a spine. It’s still a couple of weeks off completion, but it’s looking great!
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with architecture, construction, ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE, ESD, innovation, site photos.
www.ideapaint.com
I love this stuff. You can paint virtually any surface and it turns into a whiteboard. And it actually works well too – I requested a sample sheet and the paint doesn’t flake at all, its nice and thick, and the white board markers don’t leave any residue.
On the downside, it’s a bit pricey though… maybe the price will come down with popularity…
Posted in News.
Tagged with architecture, innovation, interior design, new products, whiteboard surface.
Click on the link below to see our entry:
UPSIDE DOWN HOUSE Award Entry
It’s a house refurb and 2nd storey extension that we have recently done in Richmond, Victoria. It has been shortlisted for the Yarra City Sustainability Awards – see blog below…
Posted in News.
Tagged with architecture, architecture awards, architecture discussion, City of Yarra design, ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE, ESD, SUSTAINABILITY, sustainable award-winning design.
This week, the world celebrates “World Environment Day (WED)“. Initiated by the UN as part of the United Nations Environment Programme “UNEP”, it is a day that stimulates awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and public action around the world. World Environment Day takes place on June 5 and during the week after. Every year a different country is hosting the official events, this year’s host is Rwanda, a small country in Central Africa with a density of approx 500 people per sq km, and a surface area of approx 26,000 sq km. Is that big, small, dense? Well, in comparison, Australia is about 300 times the size of Rwanda surface-wise, but instead of 500 it has a density of less than 3 people per sq km. That is, of course, an average between coast and inland, and it would therefore vary greatly. However, even compared to the UK with a population density of approx 250 people per sq km, Australia’s 2.9 doesn’t sound a lot – so why, again, do we keep complaining so much about Australia becoming overpopulated? We’ll have to come back and investigate that a bit closer over the next few weeks.
Coming back to the question above, as most readers here would be aware of, one of the main focus points in our work is Sustainability, and the question of how we can help create a world that is still worth living for generations to come. All our projects feature sustainable elements as much as possible, and these include various ecological sustainable design systems (ESD), both passive and active. We incorporate these sytems into our designs and base architectural ideas on them.
Having moved from Northcote to North Fitzroy a couple of months ago, Paul Gardiner Architects now call the City of Yarra their home. So having been nominated and shortlisted for this year’s Yarra Sustainability Awards, makes us particularly happy, and we are proud to be part of a lively and forward thinking community. The project that will feature in the Awards exhibition is our “Upside-Down Living”, a sustainable and contemporary refurbishment/extension project that we have completed for a fantastic forward-thinking client in Richmond last year. Tonight, the exhibition will be opened with the “Yarra Community Celebration and Awards Night”, an event that is a local celebration of the World Environment Day and Australia’s participation in same. Wanna be part of it? Give us a call and we’ll RSVP for you. It’s on tonight, Tuesday 8 June in the Fitzroy Town Hall. The evening will include a presentation of the Yarra Sustainability Awards 2010 winners and showcase the Yarra community’s outstanding environmental projects, as well as the latest in environmentally sustainable design.
So let’s celebrate World Environment Day, together with the City of Yarra and the country of Rwanda, and if each of us contributes a special idea or donation or action towards the environment this week, then I think that would be the best celebration we can have.
Posted in News.
Tagged with architecture awards, City of Yarra design, ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE, ESD, SUSTAINABILITY, sustainable architecture, sustainable award-winning design, world environment day.
1. Architecture is all around. Everyone throughout the world needs shelter of some kind. This means wherever I travel, whether it be the back streets of Melbourne or the European countryside, there is always something interesting to look at and consider – be it a gutter detail or some unusual cladding material. Perhaps this makes architecture the ultimate universal language…
2. Architecture encompasses all senses. Not only is architecture a visual entity, it appeals to your aural and tactile senses. Even the smell of timber beams can affect the way you experience architecture. The way noise bounces off walls and the smoothness of the concrete floor are also elements which can have a profound affect on the overall experience of architecture. Is architecture the only art form which has this ability? Does this help to validate the idea that architecture is ‘the mother of all arts’?
3. Architecture has the ability to affect the way people feel. I think this aspect of architecture is so extraordinary. Deconstructed, a building can just be a pile of steel, timber and glass but the way in which those elements are put together can bring people to tears. But I wonder how much does this have to do with the function of the building (Libeskind’s Jewish Museum in Berlin) or the stories behind the building and architect? (Kahn’s Capital Complex at Dhaka).
Libeskind’s Jewish Museum
Kahn’s Capital Complex at Dhaka
Posted in News.
Tagged with architecture, architecture and feeling, architecture as an art form, architecture discussion, discourse, like architecture, sensual architecture.
We are currently setting up our new base in North Fitzroy. Our new Address is 7/252 St.Georges Road.
As we have moved to a brand new location, we are taking fresh, inspired approach to all things in the office – including the maintenance of this blog! Each week one of us at PGA will post something new for everyone to read, comment and discuss.
We look forward to passionate discussions!
Posted in News.
