| 81 Bossley Architects ARCHITECTURE www.astech.biz Extraordinary locations demand extraordinary VɈ NYPK WV^LY ZVS\[PVUZ (Z[LJO KLZPNUZ HUK PUZ[HSSZ ILZWVRL ZVSHY HUK IH[[LY` Z`Z[LTZ [OH[ SL[ `V\ LUQV` TVKLYU SP]PUN ^P[OV\[ JVTWYVTPZL Powering paradise. T T Kelly Deeks Design still relevant in a changing world Island Complex won the Enduring Architecture Award at the 2026 Auckland Architecture Awards more than 25 years after it was completed. Photo: Sam Hartneet. Bossley Architects’ Island Complex has proved that architecture can become more valuable with age, taking out the Enduring Architecture Award at the 2026 Auckland Architecture Awards more than 25 years after it was completed. The Bay of Islands home, designed by Pete Bossley, was recognised with awards in the late 1990s and has since gained an international reputation. The latest award recognises its design, and the way it has been cared for by its owners. “It’s enduring because it has been lovingly cared for and maintained by the owners, and it’s still relevant because of how it relates to the New Zealand landscape,” Pete says. The original home has evolved into a collection of four buildings, including a guest house, cottage, and boatshed, arranged around a large lawn and garden. Rather than enclosing the property with conventional walls, the buildings, vegetation, and contours of the site create a sheltered outdoor space, reflecting what Pete describes as a distinctly New Zealand interpretation of the traditional courtyard house. The architecture is deliberately pavilion-like, with floating monopitch roofs providing the dominant sense of shelter, and extensive glazing connecting the interiors with the surrounding landscape. Pete says the practice has always been interested in creating comfortable homes, rather than pursuing minimalism for its own sake. “It’s a matter of seeing how much shelter you can get out of the roof without too many walls, but enough walls to make it comfortable to live in, and finding the balance between too much or not enough glass.” That approach has helped the Island Complex remain relevant as expectations around energy efficiency and sustainable design have changed. The house uses passive design principles, including large roof overhangs to control solar gain, while its main house steps up the hill across seven levels. Today, its roof is covered in solar panels, with battery storage and a back-up generator allowing the island property to generate its own power. Pete says many of the principles used on the house decades ago remain sound, even though technology and products have changed significantly. “Passive principles have been around in New Zealand and architects have been using them for years. New Zealand architecture has been ahead of its time.” The project is also an example of the craftsmanship once possible, with exposed rafters and construction details left visible. Pete says the simple, kitset-like structure was extremely demanding to build because so little was concealed. Some elements would be approached differently today, including the timber joinery and single glazing, while modern timber treatments and double glazing could improve its performance. The underlying architectural ideas, however, would remain much the same. The award comes as Bossley Architects continues a broad programme of work, including the Papua New Guinea Centre for Eye Health in Port Moresby, a 2350sqm facility designed to expand eye-care services and specialist training. The practice has also worked across housing, bridges, libraries, museums, and civic projects, including Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom in Foxton, completed in 2017. For Pete, that diversity is both practical and central to what architecture should achieve. “If we can help people live better lives, whether they are living at home or crossing a bridge or going to a museum, if we can lift their spirits with the architecture, that is what we love to do.” “It’s a matter of seeing how much shelter you can get out of the roof without too many walls, but enough walls to make it comfortable to live in, and finding the balance between too much or not enough glass.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=