76 | T T Alexia Anderson Long-standing practice with diverse portfolio ARCHITECTURE Desmond Prisk Architects Desmond Prisk Architects Ltd, established in Timaru in 2000, has developed a robust portfolio over the past two decades across the South and lower North Island. Principal Desmond Prisk sees the firm as a Central South Island practice, currently focusing on the Timaru and Oamaru districts, but historically with residential projects in Otago, the Mackenzie, Canterbury, and Wellington regions. The firm has three design staff: two registered architects and one member who is pursuing registration after studying a Bachelor of Architecture. Their team has expertise in all aspects of architecture, from preliminary design to contract administration and project management. A hallmark of their 20-year practice is the strong relationships built within the construction industry, based on open communication and collaboration. “We are about getting on with people to obtain good outcomes for everyone involved.” They prioritise understanding clients’ needs to unlock the potential of each design brief and site, ensuring each project is creatively tailored to each client’s needs. “Registered architects bring a high level of expertise, creativity, and professional assurance that can be crucial for more complex or significant construction projects,” Desmond says. The title of architect is legally protected, and registered architects must meet rigorous standards, including a five-year degree, supervised work experience, and an oral exam. They receive support from the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) and must undergo continuous professional development and performance reviews every five years. The Timaru region, with its robust rural economy, has provided a stable base for the practice. While construction activity has fluctuated, the firm has been shielded from dramatic lows. Recently there has been a shift from primarily residential projects to a mix of commercial, institutional, and educational commissions. Current projects include new commercial buildings, a community sports complex, heritage church restorations, and a new private primary school. The firm has recently worked on three churches for the Catholic Diocese, gaining further experience in both the architectural and liturgical issues involved. “We were initially commissioned to design a new St Mary’s church in Pleasant Point after the existing building was damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes,” Desmond said. It was a challenging but rewarding process for the team, which led to the company’s current involvement in the repair and upgrade of the heritage listed St Joseph’s Church in Temuka, a project that involves collaboration with specialist craftspeople. “St Joseph’s has 28 stained glass windows that were hand painted in France over 100 years ago. They have all been removed and beautifully restored by Stewart Glass in Christchurch. The spire to the church was removed following the earthquakes and we are now replacing it as part of this upgrade project.” Their church projects also led to a new commission for the Catholic Diocese in Dunedin, involving upgrades to St. Patrick’s Basilica in Oamaru, a Heritage NZ Category 1 listed building. “These projects, while different in scale to our residential work, still have a strong design focus and attention to detail. They also involve elements not generally found in the residential projects, such as working with specialist craftspeople on items with high heritage values.” McCoy and Wixon Architects Heritage building upgrade The new music and art facility at Trinity Catholic College. T T Kelly Deeks Project management is a much more complex world now, for better or for worse, and Dunedin’s McCoy and Wixon Architects has done that work in full service commissions for many loyal clients over its 74 years in business. “In the context of where we work in the South Island, we’re lucky to have great, established, long-term relationships, not only with clients but also with all the consultants and contractors we work with,” says McCoy and Wixon Architects director Matt Mitchell. McCoy and Wixon Architects has recently delivered the most state-of-the-art high school music and arts suite in Dunedin with a full service commission on the Trinity Catholic College Pompallier Block, a Category One listed heritage building originally opened in 1937. Needing significant seismic strengthening and fire and accessibility compliance works to elevate this building to current code and make it suitable for current and future teaching, the upgrade enabled an opportunity to create a new and refurbished music and art facility for Trinity Catholic College. The Catholic Diocese and School progressed with briefing and design with McCoy and Wixon Architects in 2018. The potential of an underutilised concrete-enclosed basement, previously the boiler room, was realised with the introduction of an ideal music recording studio, grounding the music programme to the lower two levels of the building, with art to be located on the upper floor, and drama in the building’s single level annex. This also enabled a new lift and stair tower to meet accessibility requirements. Wherever possible, existing structure and original heritage features were maintained and put on show, and input from each department and liaison with Heritage New Zealand was invaluable in both briefing and design development. Construction began at the end of 2022. With McCoy and Wixon Architects’ full service commission, the project was managed by Matt and the team from initial discussions through to comletion. Matt says this ensured consistency and cohesion across architecture, interior design, exterior landscaping, furniture procurement, and finishing touches, with no hassle for the Diocese of coordinating multiple contracts and logistics. “We met on site every fortnight all the way through construction, observing work and coordinating required works with the contractor and subcontractors, ” Matt says. Hanlon & Partners are proud to support McCoy &Wixon TC1/TC2/TC3 Slab Design 29 Fox St., South Dunedin & Alexandra 03 455 2057 Fax 03 455 5959 info@stewartconstruction.co.nz www.stewartconstruction.co.nz Construction Ltd See our website for more information • Passive Fire Protection • Specialised Kitchens • Housing • Commercial Construction • Timber Joinery • Alterations We’re proud to support McCoy & Wixon Architects Proudly supporting Desmond Prisk Architects Photo: Graham Warman
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