| 85 T T Russell Fredric Crafting functional, comfortable spaces A winning example of her work, designed for an Auckland client, is situated in Speargrass Flat, Arrowtown. Kamermans Architects ARCHITECTURE Designing spaces people connect to and grow with that are increasingly loved and appreciated by their occupants over time is one of the many rewards of being an architect, Marina Leenman says. The owner of Kamermans Architects, Marina is a registered architect who started with the Auckland practice 10 years ago as a graduate under the mentorship of its founder and then owner, the late Frans Kamermans. “He took me from a fresh graduate and mentored me; I got registered and then we worked towards a succession plan. Two years ago I took over the practice when he retired and unfortunately, quite tragically, he passed away early this year.” “Over the years he built close relationships with his clients.” Numerous clients have had multiple houses designed by Kamermans Architects and Marina is passionate about building upon Frans’ legacy as well as making her own mark. Marina has been a New Zealand Institute of Architects registered architect for four years. While there are various pathways to becoming an architect, after gaining a degree, training typically involves mentorship with a registered architect followed by registration which is a stringent process, Marina says. “Basically you have to prove that you have a solid understanding of every aspect of the architectural process, right from the concept through to completion, including legal issues and contract work as well as the working drawing aspect. “And going forward, to retain your registration, you have to take competency reviews every five years as well as continue your ongoing professional development.” “An architect gains a very rich base of skills that are both technical, theoretical and conceptual.” Marina’s passion lies in “honest”, sustainable design that is true to its material, functionality and that utilises passive solar design principles expressed through its form, unsurprisingly with considerable influence from Frans. “Good design is the combination of these values as well as working closely with clients, which results in functional comfortable spaces that are uplifting,” she says. “Often when you work with a family you get to know how they use a space and how they live in it and so you craft the space with that in mind.” Hearing clients speak about the architecture and spaces in their homes with joy “describing how the home has grown with them and has become a part of their family” is a rewarding aspect of architecture, Marina says. A winning example of her work, designed for an Auckland client, is situated in Speargrass Flat, Arrowtown. Built by Shore Construction, the home won the 2024 Registered Master Builders House of the Year southern region Gold award and was a 2023 Home magazine Home of the Year finalist, in addition to being highly commended in the 2023 Trends International Design awards (TIDA). The client’s brief required a highly sustainable, single storey, contemporary, four bedroom country home on a flat site that is overlooked by mountain ranges. Featuring a striking butterfly roof design, with its two twisted planes, emphasises the drama of the landscape, while the building is surrounded by man-made ponds creating stunning reflections of the cedar façade. Marina’s passion for passive solar design is reflected in the shape of the design, with the varying size and angles of the soffits inviting the low winter sun deep into the floorplate for maximum solar gain, while shielding the living space from the high summer sun, allowing the house to remain warm in winter and cool in summer. RENOVATION EXPERTS KNOWN FOR QUALITY WORKMANSHIP Renovation - Alteration - Additions | Accurate Costing Preliminary Budgeting | Project Management Contact us Cody Webby on 021 056 6250 info@centralresidential.co.nz www.centralresidential.co.nz 44a Claude Road, Hillpark, Auckland
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