Archinect - News

The U.S., Australia, and New Zealand implement an updated reciprocity agreement for architects

2024-11-07T08:00:00-05:00

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA), and the New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB) have implemented a new Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA). It replaces the previous MRA between the countries, created in 2016, further expanding licensure access for international architects.

The new agreement recognizes the professional credentials of architects licensed or registered in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand and acknowledges the value of the various pathways to licensure within each country. As a result, unnecessary barriers to reciprocal licensure, such as extended experience requirements and limited paths to licensure or registration, are being reduced.

As stated by NCARB President Kenneth R. Van Tine, “The updated agreement is pivotal to NCARB’s...

NCARB signs new reciprocal agreement with counterparts in New Zealand and Australia

2024-08-22T10:41:00-04:00

This week, the National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB) signed a new Mutual Recognition Agreement with their counterparts at the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) and New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB). The agreement expands on an existing one that’s been on the books since 2016, eliminating a requirement for 6,000 hours of post-licensure/registration experience while accepting the qualifications of architects who obtained a license through alternative pathways.

“We know Australian architects are sought after around the world for their high level of skill and creativity. This new agreement provides a wonderful opportunity for architects of all levels of experience to work overseas faster,” AACA President Dr. Giorgio Marfella said.

More on the important issue of architectural licensure can be explored in our ongoing Archinect In-Depth: Licensure series, including a detailed look at another reciprocal agreement between NCARB and th...

Jacinda Ardern, former New Zealand Prime Minister, will headline at the 2023 AIA Conference on Architecture

2023-05-04T15:25:00-04:00

Another international head of state will follow last year’s A’22 keynote speaker Barack Obama in headlining the upcoming AIA Conference on Architecture in San Francisco after the Institute announced that former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern will be in attendance at the event.

The 42-year-old Ardern, who was inaugurated in 2017 as her country’s youngest-ever Prime Minister, will speak to attendees on June 10th, likely on subjects related to her tenure as New Zealand’s leader and her ongoing support for the rights of women across the globe.

The AIA says: "Ms. Ardern’s focus on people, kindness, and what she has called 'pragmatic idealism' saw New Zealand achieve some of the lowest losses of life experienced by any developed nation through the pandemic."

Earlier on Archinect: Obama's remarks at the 2022 AIA Conference on Architecture speak on the intersection of inequality and sustainable design

Ardern is now serving in several advisory roles, including as a board member ...

Work and study agreement signed between architectural registration bodies of the UK, Australia, and New Zealand

2023-03-31T13:19:00-04:00

A new Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) has recently been signed between the UK’s Architects Registration Board (ARB), the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA), and the New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB).

This follows the MRA reached between the ARB and the United States’ National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB) in February.

Starting May 25th, a streamlined registration process, resulting in reduced costs and examinations, will make it easier for architects to register to work in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Additionally, architects educated up to and including a master’s degree will be able to complete their training in another partner country.

Previously on Archinect: NCARB and ARB sign Mutual Recognition Agreement affecting architects in the US and UK

“This is another welcome step that opens up the world for architects and architecture,” RIBA President Simon Allford said in response to the agreement. “Through these agreemen...

Meet LA-to-Auckland studio Fearon Hay Architects: Your Next Employer?

2022-10-04T12:02:00-04:00

Following last week’s visit to the Design Trust for Public Space in New York City, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series back to Los Angeles this week where we meet Fearon Hay Architects.

Founded in 1998 by Tim Hay and Jeff Fearon, the practice has since grown to operate studios in Los Angeles and Auckland, New Zealand. The firm’s projects, which span the globe, are united by what the studio calls a "commitment to design excellence, a thoughtful consideration of site and place, and a sensitive creativity."

From their studio in Venice Beach, the firm is currently hiring for several positions over on Archinect Jobs. For candidates interested in applying for a position, or anybody interested in learning more about life at an architecture studio, we spoke with the Fearon Hay team for a behind-the-scenes look at their firm.

Fearon Hay's studio in Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Fearon Hay Architects

How did Fearon Hay get started?

Fearon Hay architects is a design-led studio und...

Grimshaw reveals final designs for City Rail Link, New Zealand's largest ever infrastructure project

2022-06-10T16:29:00-04:00

Grimshaw has released the final designs for City Rail Link (CRL), the largest infrastructure project ever in New Zealand. Situated in Auckland, it includes three train stations, designed in collaboration with WSP as part of the Link Alliance, a consortium of seven companies delivering the main station and tunnels for the project. Upon completion, CRL will double the capacity of the city’s rail network and will serve as a powerful expression of Māori cultural heritage and history of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Te Wai Horotiu Station. Image render courtesy of Grimshaw.

CRL is New Zealand’s first completely underground railway line. It comprises a 2.14-mile twin-tunnel underground rail link up to 138 feet below Auckland’s city center. The project also includes the transformation of the Britomart Transport Center into a two-way through-station, the construction of two new underground stations, and a new interchange station.

Karanga a hape Station. Image render courtesy of Grimshaw.

The station desig...

New Zealand architects join international climate emergency declaration

2019-09-28T15:00:00-04:00

New Zealand architects have had enough. With the effects of climate change impacting the globe, several nations have declared an urgent international climate emergency. After UK architects issued the Architects Declare initiative in May 2019, several other countries such as Italy, Norway, Canada, and Australia have joined the movement.

According to New Zealand's ArchitectureNow publication, "The declaration takes the form of an open letter and states, The twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are the most serious issue of our time. Buildings and construction play a major part, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions whilst also having a significant impact on our natural habitats."

Banding together architects express their efforts to make changes that will help reinforce better design practices, the open letter urges architects to work with their clients to states “commission and design buildings, cities and infrastructures...

"Kinetic" steel museum in New Zealand pays tribute to illustrious sculptural artist Len Lye

2015-08-04T15:51:00-04:00

The Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth, Taranaki in New Zealand stands as an emblem of the sculptural works and philosophy of acclaimed artist Len Lye, who was a prominent figure in the kinetic sculpture and experimental film movements throughout the 20th century. Celebrating its grand opening late last month with the Govett Brewster Art Gallery, the Centre is the culmination of a more than three-decade endeavor in building a permanent home for Lye’s archive of work. As an expansion to the Govett Brewster, the Centre is the only museum in the country that is dedicated to a single artist.

The New Plymouth District Council financed the building through an extensive government-led fundraiser and commissioned New Zealand practice Patterson Architects Associates to design the new building. Keeping their true client — Len Lye — in mind, Pattersons fused significant elements of the artist's inspirations into their design, including Maori motifs, Greek classical temples, and the manipulation of ...

New Zealand landscaper shapes church out of trees

2015-07-13T14:19:00-04:00

You don’t have to be religious to appreciate the Tree Church in Ohaupo, New Zealand. A heavenly 100-seat chapel set among a 3-acre landscaped garden, the church boasts walls made of living trees planted around an iron frame. In 2011, Barry Cox, who runs a tree relocating business, decided that his backyard was missing an old stone church like the ones he had studied and admired on travels to Europe.

Get a glimpse inside the Tree Church in the video below.

And here's more tree love and cool churches on Archinect:

Tree-hugging in the modern age

It's official: trees are good for your health

New photos of E. Fay Jones' Thorncrown Chapel unveiled to mark 35th anniversary

Great Synagogue of Edirne in Turkey, Europe's third largest synagogue, reopens after five-year restoration

Tour the stunning "The Fish Church" in Stamford as part of the Docomomo US Tour Day

APEC announces expedited international registration among architects in Canada, Australia and New Zealand

2015-02-20T21:01:00-05:00

Now licensed architects in Canada, New Zealand and Australia will have a much easier time becoming registered in any of those countries. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, just announced its Architect Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) among the registration boards of the three countries, so that architects with at least seven years of “senior experience” in one country can have their registration expedited in another. Representatives from the Canadian Architectural Licensing Authorities (CALA), the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) and the New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB) signed the MRA on February 21 at the New Zealand Parliament.

The Government to Government Trans-Tasman MRA already entitled New Zealand architects to registration in Australia (and vice versa). Meanwhile Canada is having it large, as it is already part of a similar MRA with the U.S. and Mexico.

Read the full press release, drafted by CALA, AACA and NZRAB, here.

...

Oamaru is a New Zealand town dedicated to steampunk

2015-01-14T11:44:00-05:00

We went to Oamaru, New Zealand to see the blue penguins (and they were super cute), but it was the town's dedication to Steampunk that really got us fired up.

Forget steampunk condos, New Zealand has it's own steampunk town.

The 2014 New Zealand Student Design Awards winners

2014-12-05T15:06:00-05:00

The New Zealand Institute of Architects' celebrated another year of top-notch architecture student work with the recent announcement of the 2014 NZIA Graphisoft Student Design Awards winners. Every year, the top four final-year students from each of New Zealand’s three Schools of Architecture (the University of Auckland, Unitec, and Victoria University of Wellington) compete for the top prestigious award.

These are a few of the winners and finalists:

Above - WINNER: Tom Dobinson (Victoria University of Wellington): "Wharf Dwellers – An Expose of Lyttelton"

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ji Min An (Unitec): "Korea/Korea"

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Norman Wei (University of Auckland): "SUPER-PACIFIC-CITY: The Saga of Lomipeau"

FINALIST: Hamish Beattie (Victoria University of Wellington): "Topology Of A Phantom City"

FINALIST: Mayank Thammalla (Unitec). Project: "Swim Or Sink"

FINALIST: Zee Shake Lee (University of Auckland): "Moving Grounds: Irrupting Three Kings’ Inverted Volcanoes"

Head over to Bustler for more.

Resilience on the fly: Christchurch’s SCIRT offers a model for rebuilding after a disaster

2014-08-11T14:59:00-04:00

That calamity hit Christchurch, New Zealand, in a series of earthquakes that devastated the city in 2010 and 2011. Most people here don’t see the extent of repair work going on underground. [...]Yet the organization created to manage Christchurch’s infrastructure rebuild has a vital role, and it’s become something of a global model for how to put the guts of a city back together again quickly and efficiently after a disaster.

New Zealand exhibition for the 2014 Venice Biennale shows the country’s Pacific architectural roots

2014-05-23T21:07:00-04:00

Our next featured pavilion for the fast-approaching 2014 Venice Biennale hails from Down Under in New Zealand, who will be participating in the keystone event for the first time. Curated by award-winning Auckland architect David Mitchell, the New Zealand exhibition is titled "Last, Loneliest, Loveliest" from Rudyard Kipling's The Song of the Cities poem.

As a response to Biennale Director Rem Koolhaas’s theme, "Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014" that addresses the homogeneity of modernism, the New Zealand exhibition puts the country's distinct architectural scene in the spotlight -- from its traditional yet overlooked Pacific roots to dominant international influences. Below are a few highlights to be showcased.

Read background info on the exhibition on Bustler.

Related:

Winners announced for the 2014 New Zealand Architecture Awards

2014-05-12T20:52:00-04:00

Winning at the New Zealand Architecture Awards -- the country's most prestigious architectural competition -- must feel like winning the lottery. This year's winners, who accepted their awards at a ceremony in Auckland, were recently announced. This year's program included nine award categories; the 2014 recipient of the New Zealand Institute of Architects Gold Medal, and the winner of the New Zealand Architectural Medal -- the competition's highest honor.

2014 recipient of the New Zealand Institute of Architects Gold Medal: Patrick Clifford of Architectus Bowes Clifford Thomson

(Pictured above) Winner of the New Zealand Architectural Medal: ASB North Wharf by BVN Donovan Hill with Jasmax. Also awarded in: Commercial, Interior Architecture, and Sustainability categories

Below are some of our favorite photos from the category-winning projects.

AUT University Sir Paul Reeves Centre by Jasmax
Categories: Education, and Planning and Urban Design

A House at the Beach, Te Horo (1986) by Moller Architects
Category: Enduring Architecture Award

Headland House by Stevens Lawson Architects
Category: Housing

Regional Terminal at Christchurch Airport by BVN Donovan Hill and Jasmax in association
Categories: Commercial Architecture and Interior

New Zealand Guest of Honour Pavilion by Patterson Associates Limited and Inside Out Productions Ltd
Category: International Architecture

Hurstmere Green by Sills van Bohemen
Category: Planning and Urban Design

Arruba Bach...

Christchurch's replacement cathedral has boosted a fledgling furniture sector

2014-04-22T13:52:00-04:00

Two years after the 2011 earthquake destroyed Christchurch's neo-Gothic cathedral, the building has been resurrected. It has also undergone something of a public transfiguration. [...] In the past few years cardboard has also become increasingly popular in small-scale design. Hipster boutiques, museum gift shops and high profile public events such as the State of Design Festival now stock cardboard lighting, storage units, stools and kids' toys.

Anything goes as Christchurch rebuilds

2014-01-08T15:36:00-05:00

The disaster that reduced Christchurch to rubble has given rise to a spirit of art and enterprise, writes Tijana Jaksic. [...] Nearly three years on from the devastating earthquake that shook the city, it's clear that Christchurch will never be the same. But the city is embracing the chance to not only rebuild, but completely reinvent itself.

Winner of the Christchurch “Breathe - The New Urban Village Project” competition

2013-10-29T20:48:00-04:00

The Holloway Team was selected as the winners of New Zealand's international "Breathe - The New Urban Village Project" design competition. The team is led by Holloway Builders from Christchurch, NZ in partnership with architecture firm Anselmi Attiani Associated Architects and Cresco engineers, both from Italy. Building and Construction Minister, Hon. Maurice Williamson made the official announcement on Oct. 22 at an event in the transitional Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch.

Previously: Finalists Announced for Breathe, The New Urban Village Project in New Zealand

Shigeru Ban's Cardboard Cathedral opens in Christchurch

2013-08-07T11:29:00-04:00

The Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand opened its doors to the public for the first time on August 6. Designed by Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban, the cathedral is a temporary replacement of the original Christchurch Cathedral, the city's symbol that was destroyed by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in February 2011. Construction delays prevented the cathedral from opening on its original deadline in February.

Ban's Cardboard Cathedral is nowhere close to the original gothic revival design done by British architect George Gilbert Scott during the later half of the 19th century. The transition structure is in the middle of an ongoing debate whether the new cathedral's permanent design should be a restoration, a modern reinterpretation, or a completely new building.

The Cardboard Cathedral's triangular frame of 98 cardboard-encased LVL beams enclose a multi-functional main hall that can accommodate up to 700 people for church events. In addition to cardboard--a reporte...

Winners of the 2013 New Zealand Architecture Awards

2013-05-29T17:51:00-04:00

The New Zealand Institute of Architects has announced nineteen architectural projects as winners of the 2013 New Zealand Architecture Awards. [...] The Imperial Buildings, a group of heritage buildings on Auckland’s Queen Street which have been restored and revived by Fearon Hay Architects, received this year's New Zealand Architecture Medal, which is awarded to the most outstanding of the New Zealand Architecture Award winners.

Monopoly for Manchester St

2012-07-13T16:16:00-04:00

Free parking on an earthquake-cleared Manchester St site is on hold while a life-sized Monopoly square moves in.

Gap Filler is a group sponsoring filling gaps around Christchurch with clever community engaging projects, their website is a collection of the different projects this group sponsored. They give pop-up a new meaning, not just as a trend but as a way to resuscitate the now vastly empty downtown of Christchurch.

Shigeru Ban in Christchurch, NZ

2012-04-20T13:25:00-04:00

This week it was confirmed that Christchurch will be the site for the latest work by one of the world's leading ecological architects. Ban's design for the city's temporary Anglican Cathedral could become reality by the end of the year when a soaring tent-like structure constructed from a series of paper tubes weighing just under 500kg and placed on a foundation of shipping containers will rise on the site of the demolished St John's Church in Latimer Square.

Bogus architect claims inflate house values

2011-10-05T19:35:00-04:00

Ryan also described a property as being designed by 'award-winning architect Noel Jessop'. A search of the New Zealand architect's register reveals that Jessop is not an architect, but that he has a certificate in drafting. Ryan rejected the claim his conduct was misleading, saying members of the public use the words 'architecture', architecturally' and 'architect' interchangeably.

Offbeat Traveler: Yellow Treehouse restaurant in New Zealand

2009-04-22T18:24:00-04:00

This unusual restaurant started life as an ad campaign for Yellow, a New Zealand company similar to the Yellow Pages. The idea was to build a restaurant in a tree using only resources listed in the company's directories. via LA Times | SpaceInvading